The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali are in themselves exceedingly brief, less than ten pages of large type in the original. Yet they contain the essence of practical wisdom, set forth in admirable order and detail. The theme, if the present interpreter be right, is the great regeneration, the birth of the spiritual from the psychical man: the same theme which Paul so wisely and eloquently set forth in writing to his disciples in Corinth, the theme of all mystics in all lands.

We think of ourselves as living a purely physical life, in these material bodies of ours. In reality, we have gone far indeed from pure physical life; for ages, our life has been psychical, we have been centred and immersed in the psychic nature. Some of the schools of India say that the psychic nature is, as it were, a looking-glass, wherein are mirrored the things seen by the physical eyes, and heard by the physical ears. But this is a magic mirror; the images remain, and take a certain life of their own. Thus within the psychic realm of our life there grows up an imaged world wherein we dwell; a world of the images of things seen and heard, and therefore a world of memories; a world also of hopes and desires, of fears and regrets. Mental life grows up among these images, built on a measuring and comparing, on the massing of

in all times. self-interest.NET
images together into general ideas. indeed. longing.
Through the Sutras of the first book. This is. to be born from the psychical. salvation. that all these are true powers overlaid by false desires. that the psychical man is the veil and prophecy of the spiritual man. on the abstraction of new notions and images from these. till a new world is built up within.
The teaching of the East is. therefore. whereby we enter our divine inheritance and come to inhabit Eternity. the glory and the power. is the realizing of that prophecy. that though in manifestation psychical. self-will. envy. curiosity.
Patanjali has in mind the spiritual man.
The purpose of life. of that new birth. His purpose is. the purpose of all true religion. the birth of the spiritual from the psychical. they are in essence spiritual. the unveiling of the immortal man. Patanjali is concerned with the
.ASTROCCULT. to set in order the practical means for the unveiling and regeneration. full of desires and hates. speculation. ambition. and to indicate the fruit.

for these rules of Patanjali's system. a pithy sentence of very general application. a thread. and which will almost bear on its face the evidence of its truth. Later will come the consideration of the nature and powers of the spiritual man. to me at least. consecutive chain of argument. as the propositions of Euclid. But with a Sutra the case is different. when the word Aphorism has been connected with them in our minds for a generation.ASTROCCULT. The reason is this: the name Aphorism suggests. once he stands clear of the psychic veils and trammels. as dependent on each other. the emergence of the spiritual man from the veils and meshes of the psychic nature. It comes from the same root as the word "sew. taken out of this place. indeed. suggesting. the moods and vestures of the mental and emotional man. The Sutras of Patanjali are as closely knit together. but further. Not only has each Sutra a definite place in the system. and will by no means be self-evident. a piece of proverbial wisdom that may be quoted in a good many sets of circumstance. therefore. I have been asked why I use the word Sutras.NET
first great problem. and a view of the realms in which these new spiritual powers are to be revealed. So I have thought best to adhere to the original word. it will be almost meaningless." and means.
At this point may come a word of explanation. a close knit. and can no more be taken
.

of the overcoming of the barriers. here as always in the Scriptures of India. the wisdom and glory of God. deeper.ASTROCCULT. salvation is.
In the second part of the first book.
Union. of the personal consciousness with the Divine Consciousness. whereby the mortal becomes immortal.NET
out of their proper setting. wherein the soul partakes of the being. first. and enters the Eternal.
. freedom from sin and the sorrow which comes from sin. means union of the individual soul with the Oversoul. radiant consciousness of the spiritual man. and of certain steps and stages in the ascent from the ordinary consciousness of practical life.
BOOK I
1. Therefore. We are led to the consideration of the barriers to his emergence. to the finer. and then a divine and eternal well-being. OM: Here follows Instruction in Union. the problem of the emergence of the spiritual man is further dealt with.

Heretofore the Seer has been enmeshed in the activities of the psychic nature.NET
2. Then the Seer comes to consciousness in his proper nature. to regain control of this perverted nature.
. drawn from their proper channel.
Egotism is but the perversion of spiritual being. Therefore our first task is. When these false images give place to true.
The goal is the full consciousness of the spiritual man. illumined by the Divine Light. to chasten. Ambition is the inversion of spiritual power. perverted. The psychical powers are spiritual powers run wild. Passion is the distortion of love.
3.
4. The mortal is the limitation of the immortal. Nothing except the obdurate resistance of the psychic nature keeps us back from the goal. Union. when the clouds disperse. then the spiritual man stands forth luminous. purify and restore the misplaced powers. spiritual consciousness. as the sun. is gained through control of the versatile psychic nature.ASTROCCULT.

combative. there has been self-indulgence of body and mind. This. to penetrate to the essence of things. they are kinetic. These pictures do not remain quiescent in the mind. Instead of the light of pure vision.ASTROCCULT. the power which lies behind and dwells in mind-pictures. egotism. busies itself ceaselessly with the mind-images. They must be extricated. the picture of past joy is framed in regrets or hopes. Instead of spiritual joy. So that we may
. These are all real forces. Spiritual powers are to be drawn forth from the psychic meshes. there have been restless senses nave been re and imaginings. its hand against every man. 3). steadily. but distorted from their true nature and goal. The psychic activities are five.
The psychic nature is built up through the image-making power.NET
The power and life which are the heritage of the spiritual man have been caught and enmeshed in psychical activities. they are either subject or not subject to the five hindrances (Book II. the undivided joy of pure being. like gems from the matrix. restless. without destructive violence. too. like the pith from the reed. stimulating to new acts. Thus the mind-image of an indulgence suggests and invites to a new indulgence. there has been fretful. to classify. Instead of pure being in the Divine. And there is the ceaseless play of the desire to know.
5.

But the power to know and feel is spiritual and immortal. What is needed is. and these.
7. memory. unsound intellection. inductive reason.NET
classify the activities of the psychic nature thus:
6. The elements of sound intellection are: direct observation. Trustworthy testimony. and of powers that picture and feel. Unsound intellection is false understanding. rests on the ultimate oneness of all souls. These activities are: Sound intellection.ASTROCCULT.
Each of these is a spiritual power. on the supreme truth that all life is of the One.
We have here a list of mental and emotional powers.
8. not resting on a
. of powers that picture and observe. and trustworthy testimony. predication. sleep. thinly veiled. but to raise it from the psychical to the spiritual realm. Inductive reason rests on the great principles of continuity and correspondence. the sharing of one soul in the wisdom of another. Direct observation is the outermost form of the Soul's pure vision. not to destroy it.

Sleep is the psychic condition which rests on mind states.
When the object is not truly perceived. In the sentence. Predication is the attribution of a quality or action to a subject. an outer current
. by adding to it a predicate. or the things thought of may be imaginary or unreal.ASTROCCULT. "the man is wise.
The purpose of this Sutra is." "the man" is the subject. induction and testimony always go back to an object.
9.
In waking life. to distinguish between the mental process of predication.
10. thought or reasoning based on that mistaken perception is of necessity false and unsound. we have two currents of perception.NET
perception of the true nature of things. without the presence of the object thought of. induction or testimony. all material things being absent. This may be simply an interplay of thoughts. Predication is carried on through words or thoughts not resting on an object perceived. and observation. when the observation is inaccurate and faulty. while observation. "is wise" is the predicate.

ASTROCCULT. which is indeed a world of mind-images. and through ceasing from self-indulgence. In this sense. the inner current continues. ever-present vision. The outer current ceases in sleep. we "dream. on waking. one says. so that. there is still a certain consciousness in sleep.
12. is but the wraith or shadow of the real and everlasting world. which are the material of which the psychic world is built. an inner current of mind-images and thoughts. the mental power is explained in terms of mind-images." Even when there are no dreams." or "I have slept badly. That which is ever before the spiritual eye of the Seer needs not to be remembered. The control of these psychic activities comes through the right use of the will. Memory is holding to mind-images of things perceived.
If these psychical powers and energies. memory is but the psychical inversion of the spiritual. "I have slept well. even such evil things as
.NET
of physical things seen and heard and perceived. Therefore the sages teach that the world of our perception. and watching the mind-images float before the field of consciousness. without modifying them."
11.
Here. as before.

14.
We have thought of ourselves. rather helpless. humility. through perpetual remembrance of our oneness with all Divine
. gentle charity. how are we to bring about their release and restoration? Two means are presented to us: the awakening of the spiritual will. are but spiritual powers fallen and perverted. dwelling in the Light. persistently.
We must seek spiritual life in conformity with the laws of spiritual life. with earnestness. effort to stand in spiritual being.ASTROCCULT. with earnestness. encompassed and sustained by spiritual powers. at the mercy of storm and hunger and our enemies.NET
passion and hate and fear. when followed long. The steady effort to hold this thought will awaken dormant and unrealized powers. perhaps. Only through obedience to that shared Life. This becomes a firm resting-place. which will unveil to us the nearness of the Eternal. We are to think of ourselves as immortals.
13. The right use of the will is the steady. which is an acknowledgment of the One Soul within us all. and the purification of mind and thought. as creatures moving upon this earth.

There must be a real effort to stand as the Soul. study must be supplemented by devoted practice. our nothingness apart from Divine Being. Ceasing from self-indulgence is conscious mastery over the thirst for sensuous pleasure here or hereafter.NET
Being. a real ceasing from self-indulgence. and the soul comes only in silence. can we enter our inheritance.
Rightly understood. faith by works. to gain the sense of being really alive. the distortion of the soul's eternal life.
16. The consummation of this is freedom from thirst for any mode of psychical activity. through the establishment of the spiritual man. With this awakening of the spiritual will.ASTROCCULT.
In order to gain a true understanding of this teaching. after self-indulgence has been courageously and loyally stilled. The lust of sensual stimulus and excitation rests on the longing to feel one's life keenly. will come at once the growth of the
. the desire for sensation is the desire of being. through reverence before the coming soul.
15. and purification. This sense of true life comes only with the coming of the soul. The reading of the words will not avail.

After the exercise of the will has stilled the psychic activities. then joy. In the second stage. a beginning may be made by fixing the attention upon some external object. or a part of a book of devotion.NET
spiritual man and our awakening consciousness as the spiritual man. one passes from the outer object to an inner pondering upon its lessons. then realization of individual being.
In virtue of continued practice and effort.ASTROCCULT. then interior judicial action. the need of an external object on which to rest the meditation is outgrown. exterior examining. The fourth stage is the realization of one's spiritual being.
17. which is called "the cloud of
. shall be given. which results from this pondering. An interior state of spiritual consciousness is reached. Meditation with an object follows these stages: first. such as a sacred image or picture. attained in even a small degree.
18. meditation rests only on the fruit of former meditations. and this. The third stage is the inspiration. To him that hath. will help us notably in our contest. as enkindled by this meditation.
In the practice of meditation. the heightening of the spiritual will.

right mindfulness. valour. entered the paradise between births.
Those who have died. full vision as the soul. from right mindfulness.
It is well to keep in mind these steps on the path to illumination: faith.
.
20. a one-pointed aspiration toward the soul. perception. and then from faith. one-pointedness. and finally. led up to by faith. from this. intense will.
21.ASTROCCULT. perception. there is spiritual consciousness. First faith. all must be won. perception. valour. right mindfulness. valour right mindfulness. 29). and they will be born again into this world. Not one can be dispensed with.NET
things knowable" (Book IV. one-pointedness. are in a condition resembling meditation without an external object. the seeds of desire in them will spring up. Spiritual consciousness is nearest to those of keen. But in the fullness of time. Subjective consciousness arising from a natural cause is possessed by those who have laid aside their bodies and been absorbed into subjective nature. For the others. from valour.
19.

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The image used is the swift impetus of the torrent. Or spiritual consciousness may be gained by ardent service of the Master. we must live them.
23.
If we think of our lives as tasks laid on us by the Master of Life. For those of weak will. we are permitted to share the power of God. or of middle strength. we must act on them.ASTROCCULT. and we come into it only through obedience.
Higher than the three stages of the way is the goal.
Therefore there is a spiritual consciousness higher than this. As we enter into the spirit of God. or intense. Firm will comes only through effort. The great secret is this: it is not enough to have intuitions.
22. if we
. but God's. there is this counsel: to be faithful in obedience. the kingdom must be taken by force. the end of the way. The will may be weak. The will is not ours. to live the life. and thus to strengthen the will to more perfect obedience. effort is inspired by faith.

if we obey. and is possible because the soul and the Oversoul are One. The Soul of the Master is free from sin and servitude and sorrow. In the Master is the perfect seed of Omniscience. since he is not limited by Time.
25.
. promptly. the Lord.
The Soul of the Master. is of the same nature as the soul in us. entrusted to us. but we still bear the burden of many evils. The Master is the spiritual man. bondage to works. we are under the dominance of sorrow. and therefore partaker of the Oversoul's all-wisdom and all-power. we shall enter by degrees into the Master's life and share the Master's power.ASTROCCULT. then. and the fruition and seed of works.
The Soul of the Master is in essence one with the Oversoul.NET
look on all duties as parts of that Master's work. All spiritual attainment rests on this. who is free from hindrances. loyally.
24. and forming our life-work. He is the Teacher of all who have gone before. sincerely. we are in bondage through our former works.
26. Thus we shall be initiated into the spiritual will.

future. in the one Being. first. Lastly. by realizing their oneness with the Oversoul. have inherited the kingdom of the Light. There is. the potency of the word itself.
This has many meanings.
OM: the symbol of the Three in One. Then there is the manifold significance of the symbol. as suggested above. the three times. past. His word is OM. the three essences. joy. and Time. in ascending degrees. as of all words. omniscience. father of all else. by their entrance into the Oversoul. Transformation. Thus we rise
. the perfected Spiritual Man.NET
From the beginning. present. Creation.
28. the three Divine Powers.
27. there is the spiritual realization of the high essences thus symbolized. This is the Word. the Symbol. For the Oversoul is before Time. the three worlds in the Soul.ASTROCCULT. Let there be soundless repetition of OM and meditation thereon. Preservation. in the one Spirit. which. the Oversoul has been the Teacher of all souls. of the Master and Lord. immortality. is one of His children. in Eternity.

however.
This. may easily be understood: that the recognition of the three worlds as resting in the Soul leads us to realize ourselves and all life as of the Soul. preservation.
Here again faith must be supplemented by works. the life must be led as well as studied. we shall come more into harmony with the One. but in the Eternal. and the resolute conquest of each sin. present or future. Thence come the awakening of interior consciousness. not in past. that. before the full meaning can be understood.
In the second part of the first book.ASTROCCULT. we become more at one with the Eternal. as we view all organization. It can only be entered where the conditions are present: purity of heart. The awakening of spiritual consciousness can only be understood in measure as it is entered. as we dwell. We are led to the consideration
. that.NET
step by step to the Eternal. the problem of the emergence of the spiritual man is further dealt with. mutation as the work of the Divine One. and the removal of barriers.
29. and strong aspiration. and thus remove the barrier' in our path toward the Light.

and they go pretty thoroughly into the brute toughness of the psychic nature.ASTROCCULT. inertia. as cutting off distractions. because of the psychic veils of the personality. lightmindedness. unable to stand and see clearly. are these: sickness. and of certain steps and stages in the ascent from the ordinary consciousness of practical life. since bodily infirmity. and may sometimes be a help. radiant consciousness of the spiritual man. The barriers to interior consciousness. to the finer. which drive the psychic nature this way and that. such as blindness or deafness. a barrier to the interior
. false notions. and as unable to come to clear consciousness. intemperance. inability to reach a stage of meditation. laziness. Nine of these are enumerated. or to hold it when reached.NET
of the barriers to his emergence.
Sickness is included rather for its effect on the emotions and mind. is no insuperable barrier to spiritual life. the emotional and mental powers. thinking of each as a psychic state.
We must remember that we are considering the spiritual man as enwrapped and enmeshed by the psychic nature. of the overcoming of the barriers. doubt. deeper.
30. It will be well for us to ponder over each of these nine activities.

despondency.NET
consciousness of the spiritual man.
The first two moods are easily understood. the seeking of moods and sensations for sensation's sake. which.
The next two terms.
31. Steady application to a principle is the way to put a stop to these. too. The next. would be a barrier. Hence come all the morbid and sickly moods of the mind. mental restlessness will be half conquered.ASTROCCULT. was full of vigour. flagrantly opposed to the pure and positive joy of spiritual life. Grieving. The surface meaning is harsh and irregular breathing. offer some difficulty. bodily restlessness. the drawing in and sending forth of the life-breath also contribute to drive the psychic nature to and fro.
The will. concerning the life breath. bodily restlessness. The remedy is a return to the pristine state of the
. has been steadily corrupted by self-indulgence. We can well see bow a sodden psychic condition. is in a special way the fault of our day and generation. When it is conquered. in its pristine state.
32. the deeper meaning is a life of harsh and irregular impulses.

The principle to which we should thus steadily apply ourselves should be one arising from the reality of spiritual life.
. by vigorous. or by showing compassion for the sad. thus doubling their joy. absorbed in our pains and bitter thoughts.
When we are wrapped up in ourselves. By sympathy with the happy. compassion for the sorrowful. thus halving their sorrow. This rending of the veils will reveal to us something of the grace and peace which are of the interior consciousness of the spiritual man. as we are here told. We refuse to find delight in holy things. and let the mind brood in sad pessimism on unholy things. Or peace may be reached by the even sending forth and control of the life-breath. the psychic nature moves to gracious peace. or. we are not willing to disturb or strain our own sickly mood by giving kindly sympathy to the happy.NET
will. by steady application to a principle. All these evil psychic moods must be conquered by strong effort of will.
33.ASTROCCULT.
34. delight in the holy. disregard of the unholy. shrouded with the cloak of our egotism. positive effort. valorous work for the soul. in others as in ourselves.

36. Faithful.NET
Here again we may look for a double meaning: first. that even and quiet breathing which is a part of the victory over bodily restlessness. but is rather an offering to the ideal of spiritual life. the pale cast of thought. without harsh or dissonant impulses. We are once more told to use the will. persistent application to any object. will bind the mind to steadiness. radiant spirit. a
. if completely attained. in the phrase of the original. then the even and quiet tenor of life.
35. and to train it by steady and persistent work: by "sitting close" to our work.
We are still considering how to overcome the wavering and perturbation of the psychic nature. which make it quite unfit to transmit the inward consciousness and stillness.
There is no such illusion as gloomy pessimism. are very amenable to the will. which brings stillness to the heart. and it has been truly said that a man's cheerfulness is the measure of his faith. Gloom. Sturdy and courageous effort will bring a clear and valorous mind. But it must always be remembered that this is not for solace to the personal man.ASTROCCULT. As also will a joyful. despondency.

But there is more in dream. and far more deleterious.
38. As we climbed down hill for our pleasure. objective on their own plane. But dreams are something more. exemplified in our own persons. lightens the tyranny of material life. yet indispensable. as well as what is below.
For the Eastern sages.
37. for the images are in a sense real. reflections of what the eyes have seen and the ears heard. and the knowledge that there is another world. made up of images of waking life. even a dream-world. dreams are.NET
contribution to the universal and universally shared treasure in heaven. The process is painful. We have quite other sins than the animals. for it may image what is above.
We must recognize that the fall of man is a reality. perhaps. with which our psychic natures are soaked through and through. so must we climb up again for our purification and restoration to our former high estate. Or a pondering on the perceptions gained in dreams and dreamless sleep. not
. and they have all come through self-indulgence. it is true.ASTROCCULT. Or the purging of self-indulgence from the psychic nature. Much of poetry and art is such a solace from dreamland.

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only the children of men, but also the children by the shore of the immortal sea that brought us hither, may throw their images on this magic mirror: so, too, of the secrets of dreamless sleep with its pure vision, in even greater degree.

39. Or meditative brooding on what is dearest to the heart.

Here is a thought which our own day is beginning to grasp: that love is a form of knowledge; that we truly know any thing or any person, by becoming one therewith, in love. Thus love has a wisdom that the mind cannot claim, and by this hearty love, this becoming one with what is beyond our personal borders, we may take a long step toward freedom. Two directions for this may be suggested: the pure love of the artist for his work, and the earnest, compassionate search into the hearts of others.

40. Thus he masters all, from the atom to the Infinite.

Newton was asked how he made his discoveries. By intending my mind on them, he replied. This steady pressure, this becoming one with what we seek to understand, whether it be atom or soul, is the one means to know. When we become a thing, we really know it, not

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otherwise. Therefore live the life, to know the doctrine; do the will of the Father, if you would know the Father.

41. When the perturbations of the psychic nature have all been stilled, then the consciousness, like a pure crystal, takes the colour of what it rests on, whether that be the perceiver, perceiving, or the thing perceived.

This is a fuller expression of the last Sutra, and is so lucid that comment can hardly add to it. Everything is either perceiver, perceiving, or the thing perceived; or, as we might say, consciousness, force, or matter. The sage tells us that the one key will unlock the secrets of all three, the secrets of consciousness, force and matter alike. The thought is, that the cordial sympathy of a gentle heart, intuitively understanding the hearts of others, is really a manifestation of the same power as that penetrating perception whereby one divines the secrets of planetary motions or atomic structure.

42. When the consciousness, poised in perceiving, blends together the name, the object dwelt on and the idea, this is perception with exterior consideration.

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In the first stage of the consideration of an external object, the perceiving mind comes to it, preoccupied by the name and idea conventionally associated with that object. For example, in coming to the study of a book, we think of the author, his period, the school to which he belongs. The second stage, set forth in the next Sutra, goes directly to the spiritual meaning of the book, setting its traditional trappings aside and finding its application to our own experience and problems.

The commentator takes a very simple illustration: a cow, where one considers, in the first stage, the name of the cow, the animal itself and the idea of a cow in the mind. In the second stage, one pushes these trappings aside and, entering into the inmost being of the cow, shares its consciousness, as do some of the artists who paint cows. They get at the very life of what they study and paint.

43. When the object dwells in the mind, clear of memory-pictures, uncoloured by the mind, as a pure luminous idea, this is perception without exterior or consideration.

We are still considering external, visible objects. Such perception as is here described is of the nature of that penetrating vision whereby

The same two steps.
. then we use a power higher than the judicial. arranging and superposing these mind-images that we get our general notions or concepts. These stages of perception are described in this way. whereby we select certain qualities in a group of mind-images. This process of analysis and synthesis. or that whereby a really great portrait painter pierces to the soul of him whom he paints.
We now come to mental or psychical objects: to images in the mind. Subtle substance rises in ascending degrees. and one nearer to the keen vision of the spiritual man. and then range together those of like quality. or without. made his discoveries. to that pure nature which has no distinguishing mark. It is precisely by comparing. intending his mind on things.
44.
45. as does a poet or a man of genius. to lead the mind up to an understanding of the piercing soul-vision of the spiritual man. are said to be with.ASTROCCULT.NET
Newton. judicial action of the mind. when referring to things of finer substance. and makes that soul live on canvas. the immortal. But when we exercise swift divination upon the mind images. is the judicial action of the mind spoken of.

of finer substance. where the partition wall between us and the Highest. is broken down and we are all made perfect in the One. in form. and then to ideas and principles. substance. to mind-images. Thus we rise from separation to true individuality in unity. meet and part again. in perpetual concussion and interchange. which overlap and coalesce in both space and time.
46. external selves are quite distinct and separate. as we ascend. our spiritual selves attain true consciousness through unity.ASTROCCULT. Our bodily. only when united.
In the four stages of perception above described.
Or we may illustrate this principle thus. first. the spiritual vision
. meet and part. our mental selves. still containing the seed of separateness. between us and others. place. name. we finally come to purer essences. The highest riches are possessed by all pure souls. The above are the degrees of limited and conditioned spiritual consciousness. drawing ever nearer and nearer to unity. and whose chief characteristic is to be separate.NET
As we ascend from outer material things which are permeated by separateness. just as so many pebbles are separate from each other.

the inner genius is still expressed through the outer. The spiritual man has yet to come completely to consciousness as himself.
48. but on its realities. whereby he sees the spirit within the symbol. When pure perception without judicial action of the mind is reached.
47.ASTROCCULT. likeness in things unlike. the pure insight of the true philosopher. we know that we know. In that peace. personal man. perception is unfailingly true.NET
is still working through the mental and psychical. the wise philosopher and the saint not only reach a wide and luminous consciousness. in his own realm. whose vision rests not on the appearances of life. or the saint's firm perception of spiritual life and being. All these are far advanced on the way. the psychical veils laid aside. there follows the gracious peace of the inner self.
We have instanced certain types of this pure perception: the poet's divination. they have drawn near to the secret dwelling of peace. but they gain certain knowledge of substantial reality. and beauty in all things.
The poet. and
. When we know. For we have come to the stage where we know things by being them.

precise knowledge. When the pure vision.
The distinction is a luminous and inspiring one. rooted in the very heart of the world. The impress on the consciousness springing from this perception supersedes all previous impressions. since this perception is particular. is a psychical state. which is reached by mental and emotional energies. each field of knowledge.
49.
Each state or field of the mind. The Scriptures teach general truths. and know it to be rock. and inference from their teaching is not less general. so to speak.NET
nothing can be more true than being. concerning universal spiritual life and broad laws. as of the poet. But the spiritual perception of the awakened Seer brings particular truth concerning his own particular life and needs. the
. exactly applying to what he has at heart. or by sound inference. We rest on the rock. The object of this perception is other than what is learned from the sacred books.ASTROCCULT.
50. is a psychical state or field. just as the mind picture of a stage with the actors on it. He receives defined. whether these be for himself or others.

with no seed of separateness left.NET
philosopher. And we must remember that soul growth here means the growth of the realization of the spiritual
. pure serene. even by the vision of a sage. since all impressions have ceased. has still an element of illusion.
51. then. however pure and luminous that veil may be. It is the last and highest psychic state. in a certain sense. the saint. and the spiritual man stands with unveiled vision. a thin psychical veil. which we now begin. is the Book of the Means of Soul Growth. fills the whole field.ASTROCCULT.
The last psychic veil is drawn aside. The second book. there arises pure spiritual consciousness. all lesser views and visions are crowded out. that which is viewed as part. When this impression ceases. Yet.
INTRODUCTION TO BOOK II
The first book of Patanjali's Yoga Sutras is called the Book of Spiritual Consciousness. This high consciousness displaces all lesser consciousness.

of intellectual curiosity or psychical selfishness. on the foundation. wherein he is enmeshed.NET
man. and he who reads may understand and practise. the growth of the spiritual man. In reality.
The second part of the second book is concerned with practical spiritual training. that is. the disguises laid upon him by the mind and the psychical nature. with the earlier practical training of the spiritual man. to put the matter more briefly. like a bird caught in a net. in his radiant eternalness and divine power? And the second book sets itself to answer this very question. so that he who runs may read. Our day and generation is far too prone to fancy that there can be mystical life and growth on some other foundation. the veils.
The question arises: By what means may the spiritual man be freed from these psychical meshes and disguises.ASTROCCULT. together with obedience to the Master. which are precisely those of the latter part of the Decalogue. and to detail the means in a way entirely practical and very lucid. or. on this latter
.
The most striking thing in it is the emphasis laid on the Commandments. so that he may stand forth above death. for example. and the disentangling of the spiritual man from the wrappings.

The practices which make for union with the Soul are: fervent aspiration. meets the question: What must I do to be saved? with the age-old answer: Keep the Commandments. and complete obedience to the Master.
It is. anything but a psychic counterfeit. a dangerous delusion. there is no salvation.NET
foundation the life of the spiritual man can never be built.
. can there be the further and finer teaching of the spiritual Rules. like every true system of spiritual teaching. truth.ASTROCCULT.
Therefore Patanjali. Without these. Only after the disciple can say. obedience. These have I kept. is laying up treasure against the time to come. therefore. indeed. like every great spiritual teacher. even though ignorant of spiritual things.
BOOK II
1. rests on this broad and firm foundation of honesty. and he who practices these. cleanness. vital for us to realize that the Yoga system. nor. spiritual reading.

Their aim is. and. to bring soulvision. which are but psychic distortions of the one Divine Will. that we shall make the will of the Master our will. to use the
. the burning away of all known impurities. and to wear away hindrances. We have. setting aside the wills of self.
The aim of fervour. and shall confirm in all wave to the will of the Divine. at the same time. for there is no such regenerating power as the awakening spiritual will. the steady practice of purification. The very study of Patanjali's Sutras is an exercise in spiritual reading. is.NET
The word which I have rendered "fervent aspiration" means primarily "fire". And so with all other books of the Soul. as the first of the means of spiritual growth.
2. therefore. to bring soul-vision. will reveal new ways and new tasks. and to wear away hindrances. the evidence of new growth of the Soul. that it needs no comment. and a very effective one. and at the same time the fire which purifies. Spiritual reading is so universally accepted and understood. The constant effort to obey in all the ways we know and understand. as our first practice. it means the fire which gives life and light. and.ASTROCCULT. Or. that fiery quality of the will which enkindles and illumines. Nothing will do more for the spiritual man in us than this. in the Eastern teaching. Obedience to the Master means. spiritual reading and obedience to the Master.

is a long and arduous task. as it were. lust hate. and bandaging his eyes. primarily. the fire of the spiritual will. is. and so doggedly resists all efforts of the spiritual man to cast off his psychic tyrant and set himself free. or refuses to see.NET
phrase we have already adopted. his complete preoccupation with his own hopes and fears. as we said. the self-absorption of the psychical man. and upbuilding the spiritual man. Fervour. Each.ASTROCCULT. is two-fold. These are the hindrances: the darkness of unwisdom. sensations and desires. The darkness of unwisdom is. spiritual reading and obedience. and all those who deny the
. wearing away the psychical. And this.
3. to help the spiritual man to open his eyes. attachment. So with the other means. demanding fine courage and persistent toil. a steady up-hill fight. in its action. self-assertion.
Let us try to translate this into terms of the psychical and spiritual man. so that he fails to see. as all teachers testify. This is the real darkness. and so helps the spiritual man to see. the enmeshing psychic nets which surround him. tying his hands. plans and purposes. and it also burns up the nets and meshes which ensnare the spiritual man. that there is a spiritual man. two-fold: it illumines. the aim of these practices is. to help him also to throw aside the veils and disguises.

when put into practice in our life. personal man has separate. leads to contest with other personalities.
Attachment is but another name for psychic self-absorption. coming from the failure to find strength in the primal life of the spiritual man. exclusive interests. that perfect love which casts out fear. but rather in their images within our minds. the cackling geese would drown the song of the nightingale. not in outward things. a harmony to be revealed only through the practice of love. our inner desires brood over
. and so to hate. our inner eyes are fixed on them. the din of which smothers the voice of the spiritual man. again. for we are absorbed. Born of this darkness. And this craving for stimulus is the fruit of weakness. since it hinders the revelation of the high harmony between the spiritual man and his other selves.NET
immortality of the soul. in Shakespeare's phrase. and so lay out their lives wholly for the psychical. lust is the psychic man's craving for the stimulus of sensation. makes against the spiritual man. as.
In like manner. This hate. mortal man and his ambitions. are under this power of darkness.ASTROCCULT. this psychic self-absorption. or deny the soul's existence. is the dogged conviction that the psychic. which he can follow for himself alone. and this conviction.

Thus expanded. These hindrances may be dormant. or through the pressure of strong aspiration. full of joy. or the links of manacles. or expanded. The darkness of unwisdom is the field of the others. pure.ASTROCCULT. they must be worn thin.
5 The darkness of ignorance is: holding that which is unenduring. The first has been explained already: in the darkness of unwisdom grow the parasites. not the Soul. or expanded.
Next. the Soul.
. to be eternal. or suspended. or suspended. hate. or worn thin. attachment. Faults which are dormant will be brought out through the pressure of life. and em we blind ourselves to the presence of the prisoner' the enmeshed and fettered spiritual man. we are told that these barriers may be either dormant. or worn thin. full of pain. lust. or. as Patanjali quaintly says. They are all outgrowths of the self-absorption of the psychical self.-as a veil might. they must be fought and conquered.
4. impure.
Here we have really two Sutras in one.NET
them.

we may say that the Seer is the spiritual man. This is that psychical man of whom it is said: he that soweth to the flesh.ASTROCCULT. thinking of the quality of the spiritual man as belonging to the psychical. personal man. the real Self. It is the belief. the man for whom we should toil. the personal self. full of joy. and so. pure. for whom we should build.
This is the fundamental idea of the Sankhya philosophy. as the text says. To translate this into our terms. a reality which really belongs to the spiritual man alone. The spiritual man is enduring. the self-absorption of the psychical. that the personal man is the real man. shall of the flesh reap corruption. of which the Yoga is avowedly the practical side.
6. The psychic man is unenduring. or. we think of the two as
. We attribute to the psychical man. impure. carried into action. The darkness of unwisdom is. for whom we should live. not the real Self. through which the spiritual man gains experience of the outer world. therefore.NET
This we have really considered already. we merge the spiritual man in the psychical. But we turn the servant into the master. the instrument of vision is the psychical man. full of pain. Self-assertion comes from thinking of the Seer and the instrument of vision as forming one self. to the exclusion of the spiritual man. not the Soul.

thus hindering the harmony of the Real. each of which deems itself supreme. the jarring discords between psychic selves. and puts new enmity between them. But if we rest in the sense of taste.ASTROCCULT. and the avoidance of poisonous and hurtful things. instead of eating to live.
This has been explained again and again. that is. through resting in the sensation. A dwelling on this pain breeds hate. the reconciliation through the Soul.NET
forming one self. So with the other great organic power. This lust comes into being. the sense of taste. the choice of wholesome food. Hate is the resting in the sense of pain. rest. we fall into gluttony. in the psychical side of taste. as.
Pain comes. Lust is the resting in the sense of enjoyment. in this case.
7. is meant to be the guide to action. for example. as a pleasure in itself.
8. the power of reproduction. Sensation.
. for the most part. from the strife of personalities. and live to eat. which tears the warring selves yet further asunder. and looking for pleasure from that.

The darkness of unwisdom is to be removed by the light of wisdom. and by obedience to the Master. and of the Master who guards and aids the spiritual man.ASTROCCULT. when they have become subtle. This prevails even in those who have attained much wisdom. These hindrances. pursued through fervour.
10. carried on by its own energy and momentum. the intensely vibrating life of the psychical self. complete obedience to each least behest of the spiritual man. death and rebirth. are to be removed by a countercurrent.
The life here desired is the psychic life. Attachment is the desire toward life.NET
9. the desire of psychic life. and hence comes the circle of death and rebirth. even in the wise. reproduces itself. instead of the liberation of the spiritual man.
The desire of sensation. carried forward by its own energy.
. so long as it falls short of the wisdom of complete renunciation. spiritual reading of holy teachings and of life itself.

Hate is to be overcome by love. the strident vibrations. The active turnings. which rests in the stillness of eternal love. Their active turnings are to be removed by meditation. by lifting up the heart to the strong. silent life above. by initial efforts.NET
Lust is to be removed by pure aspiration of spiritual life. The fear that arises through the sense of separate. The burden of bondage to sorrow has its root in these hindrances. in truth. by letting heart and mind dwell in spiritual life. and needs no harsh vibration to convince it of true being.ASTROCCULT. they have been located and recognized in the psychic nature. lust and hate are to be stilled by meditation.
Here is. of selfishness. takes away the void of weakness which we try to fill by the stimulus of sensations.
12. warring selves is to be stilled by the realization of the One Self. the one soul in all.
11. This realization is the perfect love that casts out fear.
The hindrances are said to have become subtle when. bringing true strength and stability. the whole secret of Yoga. which. the science of the soul.
.

through a kind of spiritual gravitation. in the last analysis. or in a life not yet manifested. its accomplishment.
13. All these are. of all that is tasted in life.
The burden of bondage to sorrow has its root in the darkness of unwisdom. But the psychical self will breed a new psychical self. in lust. of the life-span. whereby the place and time of the next birth. the incarnating self is drawn to a home and life-circle which will give it scope and discipline. and its need of discipline is clearly conditioned by its character. and this means jarring discord and inevitable death.
Fully to comment on this. and so new sorrows in a life not yet manifest. in selfishness. in hate. and to do this the present commentator is in no wise fitted. because it means the sense of separateness. and this means sorrow. in a new birth. its content and duration. in attachment to sensation. But this much is clearly understood: that.ASTROCCULT. its standing. are determined. From this root there grow and ripen the fruits of birth. absorption in the psychical self. would be to write a treatise on Karma and its practical working in detail.NET
It will be felt in this life.
.

which is the one true joy. because there is no expectation without its shadow.NET
14. in no other way. is ever afflicted with restlessness. and because all its activities war with each other. The fire is not quenched by pouring oil on it. as they are sprung from holy or unholy works. These bear fruits of rejoicing. all personal life is misery. because it ever waxes and wanes. because it is afflicted with restlessness. The life of the psychic self is misery. indeed. finds not satisfaction. therefore joy comes of holiness: comes. and therefore discord. but rather the whetted hunger for more. because birth brings inevitable death. to the law of divine harmony. To him who possesses discernment. and obedience to harmony strengthens that harmony in the soul.
The whole life of the psychic self is misery.
Since holiness is obedience to divine law.
15. and this two-fold law is true. so desire is not quenched
. And as unholiness is disobedience. so that he who has much.ASTROCCULT. whether the cause take effect in this. or of affliction. makes ever new dynamic impresses in the mind. fear. because it ever waxes and wanes. or in a yet unmanifested birth. therefore unholiness makes for pain.

is ever the house divided against itself. which is the intellectual counterpart of the Yoga system. and grows by what it feeds on.
17. And the psychic self.NET
by the satisfaction of desire. absorption in the psychical self.
In other words. we cannot cure the pains of life by laying on them any balm. as the proverb says.
Here again we have the fundamental idea of the Sankhya. The cause of what is to be warded off. the root of misery. torn with conflicting desires. because a desire satisfied is but the seed from which springs the desire to find like satisfaction again. The appetite comes in eating. The cause of what is to be warded off.ASTROCCULT. before it has come. because it makes ever new dynamic impresses in the mind. So it is said. This pain is to be warded off. but to fix the heart upon the eternal. Again. there is no cure for the misery of longing.
16. which must surely fall. We must cut the root.
. is the absorption of the Seer in things seen. is the absorption of consciousness in the psychical man and the things which beguile the psychical man. the life of the psychic self is misery.

They form the basis of the elements and the sense-powers. that with distinctive mark. that without distinctive mark. they make the psychical world. the total of the phenomena. the soul gains experience. the whole outer world exists for the purposes of the soul. make the material world. and finds in this its true reason for being. in their finer. In other words.NET
The cure is liberation.
19. They make for experience and for liberation. and is prepared for liberation. and two strata of the psychical realms. possess as their property. inertia. These.
Here is a whole philosophy of life. manifestation. as we might say. action. inertia: the qualities of force and matter in combination. in their grosser form. there are two strata of the physical. And through this totality of the phenomenal. and the side of force. Things seen have as their property manifestation. The form side of the physical is here called the
. Things seen. there is the side of form.
18. In each. the undefined. the world of sense-impressions and mind-images. action. The grades or layers of the Three Potencies are the defined. more subjective form.ASTROCCULT.
Or.

as yet unseeing in his proper person. as always.
The things of outer life. by whom he is enfolded and enmeshed. now to that. there is the form side. to set this prisoner free. So in the psychical. that with distinctive marks. such as the characteristic features of mind-images. exist in very deed for the purposes of the Seer. The very essence of things seen is. when the psychical man sets up. the pure life of the eternal. The task is. but the psychic man also. the spiritual man Disaster comes. he looks out through the vesture of the mind. to clear the dust of ages from this buried temple. the Soul. such as the forces of desire or fear.
20. that which has no boundaries. The force side of the physical is the undefined. without distinctive marks. so to
. But the spiritual man. and there is the force side.NET
defined.ASTROCCULT. The Seer is pure vision. which may flow now to this mind-image. not only material things. looks out on the world through the eyes of the psychical man. Though pure.
The Seer. is the spiritual man whose deepest consciousness is pure vision.
21. that they exist for the Seer.

and will remain till they.
23. and also of the realizing of the nature of the Seer. The association of the Seer with things seen is the cause of the realizing of the nature of things seen.
When one of us conquers hate. too. and taking material things to solace his loneliness. since others still hate and suffer hatred. hate does not thereby cease out of the world.
22. But for others the coloured veil remains. and therefore the world thus coloured by it remains for them. So passing through many lives. Though fallen away from him who has reached the goal. and through which we look at all material things. trying to live for himself alone. since they still exist for others.NET
speak. All life's infinite variety is for discipline. in the white radiance of eternity. for the development of the soul. the world which we saw through it is also gone. for now we see life as it is. which hold us in bondage to material things. conquer delusion. When the coloured veil of illusion is gone. on his own account. the august laws that are written in the
. things seen have not alto fallen away. the Soul learns the secrets of the world. So with other delusions.
Life is educative.ASTROCCULT.

The darkness of unwisdom is the absorption of consciousness in the personal life.
When the spiritual man has. learned all life's lessons. Yet all these laws are but reflections. So shall he enter into his kingdom. This is the fall. the time has come for him to put off the veil and disguise of the psychical and to stand revealed a King.
25.
26. through the psychical. and go no more out. The bringing of this association to an end. A discerning which is carried on without wavering is the means of
.ASTROCCULT. The cause of this association is the darkness of unwisdom. the soul learns to know itself. therefore in learning these.NET
form of the snow-crystal or the majestic order of the stars. When they are learned. the learning of the lessons of life. in the house of the Father.
24. of the laws of the soul. by bringing the darkness of unwisdom to an end. and in the things seen by the personal life. but projections outward. this is the Seer's attainment of his own pure being. through which comes experience. the day of redemption is at hand. All life is but the mirror wherein the Soul learns to know its own face. is the great liberation.

carried out constantly. the things of another rather than one's own. courage and not cowardice. the things unseen are eternal. makes for liberation.ASTROCCULT. St. it need not be
. with its discernment between the eternal and the temporal. This true discernment.
Here we come close to the pure Vedanta. though this too is vital. His illuminations is sevenfold.NET
liberation. Paul. rising In successive stages. He has in view a constant discriminating in act as well as thought.
Patanjali's text does not tell us what the seven stages of this illumination are. sacrifice and not indulgence. that which makes for the things eternal: honesty rather than roguery.
Patanjali means something more than an intellectual assent. following after Philo and Plato.
27. The commentator thus describes them:
First. the danger to be escaped is recognized. of the two ways which present themselves for every deed or choice. lays down the same fundamental principle: the things seen are temporal. always to choose the higher way.

with its sound and luminous good sense. The final release from the psychic is three-fold: As fifth of the seven degrees. Third. they need not be worn away a second time. fall of themselves. the way of escape is clearly perceived. This is the fourfold release belonging to insight. until impurity is worn away. From steadfastly following after the means of Yoga. the causes of the danger to be escaped are worn away.NET
recognized a second time. Second. Fourth. clear discernment.
. the dominance of its thinking is ended. Happy is the spiritual man who beholds this seven-fold illumination in its ascending stages. Then.
28. has been developed.ASTROCCULT. freed from these potencies. the spiritual man stands forth in his own nature as purity and light. They are very familiar. they do not grow again. once dissolved. the means of escape.
Here. its potencies. as sixth. as seventh. like rocks from a precipice. And when we come to detail the means of Yoga. we enter on the more detailed practical teaching of Patanjali. we may well be astonished at their simplicity. There is little in them that is mysterious. by the contemplation which checks psychic perturbation. there comes the illumination of thought up to full discernment. The essence of the matter lies in carrying them out.

not to be guilty of incontinence. right Control of the life-force. and the Rules which are laid on the members of religious orders. The eight means of Yoga are: the Commandments. Paul's list: Thou shalt not commit adultery. abstaining from stealing. the Rules. They must be taken in their order. from impurity.
These eight means are to be followed in their order. We can get a ready understanding of the first two by comparing them with the Commandments which must be obeyed by all good citizens.NET
29. Contemplation. to speak the truth.
. right Poise.
30.ASTROCCULT. thou shalt not steal. not to steal. truthfulness. in the sense which will immediately be made clear. thou shalt not covet. Until one has fulfilled the first. Almost identical is St. Attention. And so with all the means of Yoga. Meditation. not to drink intoxicants.
These five precepts are almost exactly the same as the Buddhist Commandments: not to kill. thou shalt not kill. from covetousness. Withdrawal. And in the same spirit is the answer made to the young map having great possessions. it is futile to concern oneself with the second. The Commandments are these: nom injury.

must be accomplished to a very considerable degree. the Eternal. First the psychical. before there can be much hope of success in the further stages of spiritual life.
31. The Commandments. when we violate one of the Commandments. not limited to any race. we set ourselves against the law and being of the Eternal.
The Commandments form the broad general training of humanity. general training. universal.NET
who asked. So the first steps in spiritual life must be taken by bringing ourselves into voluntary obedience to these spiritual laws and thus making ourselves partakers of the spiritual powers. thereby bringing ourselves to inevitable con fusion. On this broad. time or occasion. then the angel. and then the spiritual. First the man. the being of the Eternal Like the law of gravity. What shall I do to be saved? and received the reply: Keep the Commandments. the need of air to breathe. these great
. which forms and develops human character.ASTROCCULT. are the great obligation. Each one of them rests on a universal. humane and wise foundation does the system of Patanjali rest. Each one of them expresses an attribute or aspect of the Self.
This broad. place. spiritual law.

The Rules are these: purity. the Rules demand obedience of the heart and spirit.
33. the weight of the imagination should be thrown' on the opposite side. The Rules are the spiritual counterpart of the Commandments. and deprive him of all possibility of further theft. Yet we can see that these Rules are the same in essence as the Commandments. for all mankind. We may imprison such a thief.
Let us take a simple case.ASTROCCULT. more spiritual plane. or of using the divine gift of will. and per feet obedience to the Master. but on a higher. a far more awakened and more positive consciousness. one which humanity as a whole is less ready for. When transgressions hinder. that of a thief.
Here we have a finer law.
32.NET
laws know no exceptions They are in force in all lands. a habitual criminal. and they have finer degrees. serenity fervent aspiration. Or we
. before the moral consciousness has awakened. throughout al times. The Commandments may be obeyed in outer acts and abstinences. who has drifted into stealing in childhood. less fit to obey. spiritual reading. for more advanced spiritual growth.

and help him gradually to build up possessions which express his will. To conquer a sin. Transgressions are injury. envy. In some such way does the great Law teach us. or infatuation. in well-doing. and his possessions have become dear to him. Turn away from the sin and go forward courageously. and so we cease to inflict them. incontinence. whether committed. If we imagine that. constructively.ASTROCCULT. he himself is robbed. or caused. Let the sin be forced out by positive growth in the true direction. let heart and mind rest. creatively.
Now as to the more direct application. on which the sin does not even exist. In this way the whole nature will gradually be drawn up to the higher level. then we can see how he would come vividly to realize the essence of theft and of honesty. or excessive. but on the contrary virtue. wrath. after he has built well. through greed. not on the sin. and would cleave to honest dealings with firm conviction. not by direct opposition. or middling.
34. Our sorrows and losses teach us the pain of the sorrow and loss we inflict on others. falsehood. theft. and draw forth his self-respect. or assented to. bearing
. rather than of opposition.NET
may recognize his disadvantages. The conquest of a sin is a matter of growth and evolution. whether faint.

all enmity ceases in the presence of him who possesses it. nor can infatuation. ignorance and pain. which is the seeking for the happiness of the All in some limited part of it. whose benign power
. survive the knowledge that we are heirs of the All. this full love creates an atmosphere of harmony. Therefore must the weight be cast on the other side. with their effects.NET
endless. not of the world.
We come now to the spiritual powers which result from keeping the Commandments. the side. of Life. mind and heart. but of the Self.ASTROCCULT. wrath. For greed cannot endure before the realization that the whole world belongs to the Self. fruit of ignorance and pain. by a truer understanding of the Self. Where non-injury is perfected. Where the heart is full of kindness which seeks no injury to another. nor can we hold wrath against one who is one with the Self.
35. Therefore let thought and imagination. The causes are to be cured by better wisdom. throw their weight on the other side. and therefore with ourselves. which Self we are.
Here are the causes of sin: greed. from the obedience to spiritual law which is the keeping of the Commandments. either in act or thought or wish. infatuation.

all acts and their fruits depend on him. there is in many of these sentences a second and finer significance. Become righteous! the man becomes righteous.
Here is a sentence which may warn us that. even more surely than contention breeds contention.
Exactly the same doctrine was taught by the Master who said to his disciples: Receive ye the Holy Ghost: whose soever sins ye remit they are remitted unto them. Where cessation from theft is perfected. Peace in the heart radiates peace to other hearts. they are retained. that he who has wholly
. beside the outer and apparent meaning. all treasures present themselves to him who possesses it.NET
touches with healing all who come within its influence. When he is perfected in truth. and whose soever sins ye retain. Gain heaven! the man gains heaven.
37. The obvious meaning is. If he should say.
The commentator thus explains: If he who has attained should say to a man.ASTROCCULT.
36. His word is not in vain.

strong and full of vigour. takes its place. in act. finds buried treasures in his path.ASTROCCULT. The deeper truth is. a new epoch. the reward is valour and virility.
The creative power. An epoch of life. treasures of jewels and gold and pearls. is opened.
38. that of the spiritual man. the power to engender spiritual children instead of bodily progeny. that of man the animal. This is one of the powers of purity. thought and wish. is no longer dissipated. finds Life supporting him in all things. that of the spiritual man. the spiritual universe. For him who is perfect in continence. and the means of gaining it. conferring on him the creative will.
One of the commentaries says that he who has attained is able to transfer to the minds of his disciples what he knows concerning divine union. The old creative power is superseded and transcended.
. has come to an end. but turned to spiritual uses.NET
ceased from theft. that he who in every least thing is wholly honest with the spirit of Life. carrying with it the power to work creatively in others for righteousness and eternal life. and gains admittance to the treasure house of Life. It upholds and endows the spiritual man. a new creative power.

Through purity a withdrawal from one's own bodily life. before we can understand the laws of Karma.
As the spiritual light grows in the heart within. Where there is firm conquest of covetousness. a ceasing from infatuation with the bodily life of others. And where the desire of the individual soul is overcome by the superb. because the root of covetousness is the desire of the individual soul. the secret that the individual soul is not an isolated reality. The conquest of covetousness brings this rich fruit. the will toward manifested life.
So it is said that.NET
39. as the taste for pure Life grows stronger. the manifest instrument of the Life. The Commentator says that this includes a knowledge of one's former births. secret
. he who has conquered it awakes to the how and why of life. but the ray. still life of the universal Soul welling up in the heart within.ASTROCCULT. the consciousness opens toward the great. the age-long lesson learned. the great secret is discerned. Thus is the how and why of life disclosed by ceasing from covetousness. which turns it this way and that until the great work is accomplished. we must free ourselves from Karma.
40.

To the pure of heart come also a quiet spirit. fugitive life. this outer. where alienation and separation never enter. purity means fitness for this vision. and spirit answers. we long for their inner and everlasting essence. In the deepest sense. for they shall see God. from all wandering and unbridled thought. where all lives are one. and we seek rather the deep infinitudes. where sickness and sorrow and death cannot come. Then shall the pure in heart see God.ASTROCCULT. whether of ourselves or of others.
Blessed are the pure in heart.
41. and fitness to behold the Soul. for the psychic partition wall is broken down. where all life is one. One consciousness now thrills through both. the primal Life. loses something of its charm and glamour. Instead of the outer form and surroundings of our lives. because they become God. and also a heart cleansed from all disquiet. where spirit speaks to spirit. the victory over sensuality. it becomes at one in essence with its source. who is the supreme Soul. the great Spirit. and when the spirit is thus cleansed and pure. from the torment of sensuous imaginings.NET
places within. but rather that quiet communion with them in the inner chamber of the soul.
. one-pointed thought. manifested. Thereafter. the ultimate Self of all beings. We desire not so much outer converse and closeness to our friends.

There is needed. before one can attain to physical health. This is the true acceptance. a positive fire of the will.
One of the wise has said: accept conditions. first. the disciple gains happiness supreme. since the own nature of the Soul is being. The perfection of the powers of the bodily vesture comes through the wearing away of impurities. and can be conquered only through compliance with that will. except their deficiencies. but of kindred essence.
43. and. But absence of impurity is not in itself enough. purer. further. else would many nerveless ascetics of the cloisters rank as high saints. and something finer.
. he comes thereby into happiness supreme. and through fervent aspiration.ASTROCCULT.NET
42. happiness. for all these things are what they are through the will of the higher Self. purity. a keen vital vigour for the physical powers. and of those which dwell in the higher vestures. accept others. From acceptance. accept yourself. the disciple comes into oneness of spirit with the overruling Soul. as the blood must be pure. By the true acceptance. stronger. which come through thwarting the will of the higher Self. for the higher powers. There must be. bliss.
This is true of the physical powers.

Spiritual reading meant. the disciple gains communion with the divine Power on which his heart is set. the recital of sacred texts. share in the atmosphere of their wisdom and power. for ancient India. something more than it does with us.ASTROCCULT. in their very sounds. It has been well said that all true art is contagion of feeling. which. first. It meant. just as through his music one can enter into the mind and soul of the master musician. so that through the true reading of true books we do indeed read ourselves into the spirit of the Masters. potent essence of the divine. had mystical potencies.
45. spiritual reading means a communing with the recorded teachings of the Masters of wisdom. and held in themselves the living. and come at last into their very presence.NET
The fire of genius is something more than a phrase. whereby we read ourselves into the Master's mind.
. Soul-vision is perfected through perfect obedience to the Master. for there can be no genius without the celestial fire of the awakened spiritual will. Through spiritual reading.
For us.
44. and it meant a recital of texts which were divinely emanated.

The present sentence declares that. in order that the finer currents of life may run their course. the one great Life. since each will must be free to choose. without losing freedom. that fine balance and stability which nothing can shake. the life of the spiritual man. and so to find the path. and the personal will made once more one with the greater Will. The error of the personal will is inevitable. Soul-vision is perfected through obedience. The first is physical. to try and fail. since it is always and everywhere true that our study demands a sound mind in a sound body.
It applies further to the poise of the soul. Right poise must be firm and without strain. where the consciousness rests on the
. In His will is our peace. and the regulation of breathing. And with that peace comes light. And sorrow and darkness are inevitable. These things have their direct influence upon soul-life. and concerns the bodily position of the student.
46. until the path be found. for work and for meditation.ASTROCCULT. wherein it finds rest and power. Here we approach a section of the teaching which has manifestly a two-fold meaning.NET
The sorrow and darkness of life come of the erring personal will which sets itself against the will of the Soul. the position of the body must be steady and without strain.

and relation with. and by setting the heart upon the everlasting. Right poise is to be gained by steady and temperate effort.
47. by gradual and wise training. and by setting the heart on the Eternal.
Here again. effort without aspiration brings a false strength.
48 The fruit of right poise is the strength to resist the shocks of
. Neither is effective without the other. Aspiration without effort brings weakness. The two together make for the right poise which sets the spiritual man firmly and steadfastly on his feet. there is the two-fold meaning. for physical poise is to be gained by steady effort of the muscles.NET
firm foundation of spiritual being.
In like manner the firm and upright poise of the spiritual man is to be gained by steady and continued effort. which the winds and waves beat upon in vain. not resting on enduring things. This is indeed the house set upon a rock. filling the soul with the atmosphere of the spiritual world. linked with a right understanding of. always guided by wisdom. Uprightness of body demands that both these conditions shall be fulfilled. the universal force of gravity.ASTROCCULT.

will do very much to keep the blood clean and pure.ASTROCCULT. the control of the incoming and outgoing breath. to remain steadfast through the perturbations of external things and the storms and whirlwinds of the psychical world. This is the power which is gained by wise. which is also coveted by the wording of the original. and by filling the spirit with the atmosphere of the Eternal. The spiritual man.NET
infatuation or sorrow. there follows the right guidance of the life-currents. must learn to withstand all shocks. Therefore a right knowledge of breathing is a part of the science of life. right oxygenation.
In the simpler physical sense.
But the deeper sense is far more important.
49. continuous effort. as the captain remains steady. though disaster overtake his ship. this sentence means that wise effort establishes such bodily poise that the accidents of life cannot disturb it. It is coming to be understood that right breathing. too.
It is well understood to-day that most of our maladies come from impure conditions of the blood.
. When this is gained.

. uncleanness. so closely related to health. the lungs should be evenly filled. The technical. thefts. time. Further. Those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart . silent. The life-current is either outward. even. and the outgoing current of his acts. many maladies may arise from the neglect and consequent weakening of some region of the lungs. followed by the period of pause. physical side of this has its value. both the incoming current of events. false witness. steady. and guide the currents of his life. murders.NET
But the deeper meaning is. that the spiritual man. it is prolonged and subtle. it is regulated according to place. can stand firm. number. this defileth a man..ASTROCCULT. And the number of breaths is so important. In the breath..
50. when he has gained poise through right effort and aspiration. out of the heart proceed evil thoughts.
Exactly the same symbolism is used in the saying: Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man. that every nurse's chart
. when the air comes into contact with the blood... but that which cometh out of the mouth. or inward. Therefore the first step in purification is to keep the Commandments. or balanced. there should be right inbreathing. and this again followed by right outbreathing. blasphemies.

argumentative trains of thought.NET
records it.
The inner meaning seems to be that. control.ASTROCCULT.
The veil is the psychic nature. in addition to the three degrees of control already described. when the outer
. which cover up and obscure the truth by absorbing the entire attention and keeping the consciousness in the psychic realm.
52.
But the deeper meaning is concerned with the currents of life. desires. and over the condition of pause or quiesence. which holds in complete mastery both the outer passage of events and the inner currents of thoughts and emotions. Thereby is worn away the veil which covers up the light. the web of emotions. that is. in comparison with lasting possessions of the Soul. When hopes and fears are reckoned at their true worth. over the incoming current of life. a condition of perfect poise and stability in the midst of the flux of things outward and inward. with that which goeth into and cometh out of the heart. over the outgoing current. there is a fourth degree of control. The fourth degree transcends external and internal objects.
51.

first. and to come to consciousness as the spiritual man. It is a question. thus by degrees transferring the centre of consciousness from the psychical to the spiritual. that we need to disentangle our consciousness from the noisy and perturbed thraldom of the psychical. that what we most need is the faculty of spiritual attention. when argumentative-thought no longer entangles us. through the faculty of spiritual attention. but yields its place to flashing intuition.
It has been well said. the consciousness is drawn from the psychical to the spiritual. and.
The vital matter is. first.ASTROCCULT. and in the same direction of thought it has been eloquently declared that prayer does not consist in our catching God's attention. but rather in our allowing God to hold our attention. through the Commandments and the Rules. by steadily heeding endless fine intimations of the spiritual power within us. This we must do.
53. second. by purification. Then is the light unveiled. and by intending our consciousness thereto.
. from the temporal to the Eternal. the certainty which springs from within. Thence comes the mind's power to hold itself in the light. then is the veil worn away.NET
reflections of things have ceased to distract us from inner realities.

54.
It is all a matter of love for the quality of spiritual consciousness. differentiating itself into the varied powers of action. gradually expanding and taking on the form of the different perceptive powers. taking on that unity which is the hall-mark of spiritual things. as against psychical consciousness. so that the spiritual force. as diversity is the seal of material things. and then of attention. there will the vesture with its powers be developed.ASTROCCULT.
To understand this. The right Withdrawal is the disengaging of the powers from entanglement in outer things. and think of the one consciousness.
. the one will. let us reverse the process.
Now let us imagine this to be reversed. there will the treasure be also. is once more gathered together into the inner power of intuition and spiritual will. For where the heart is. as the psychic nature has been withdrawn and stilled. at the same time. where the consciousness is. which has gone into the differentiated powers. of love and attention. centred in the Soul.NET
of love.

to use St. when the Commandments have
. the athlete gains the mastery in the contest and the race through the sacrifice of his long and arduous training. through this very struggle and sacrifice the mastery has become possible. The first of these is this: These spiritual powers can only be gained when the development described in the first and second books has been measurably attained. Thus he gains the crown. much of the struggle to keep the Commandments and the Rules has been paving the way for this mastery. two things must be understood and kept in memory. and gaining complete mastery of his powers.NET
55. and illuminated vision. Thereupon follows perfect mastery over the powers.ASTROCCULT. just as. the spiritual man is coming into his inheritance. In considering these spiritual powers.
Indeed.
INTRODUCTION TO BOOK III
The third book of the Sutras is the Book of Spiritual Powers. poise. with its purity. Paul's simile.
When the spiritual condition which we have described is reached.

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been kept. through keeping the Commandments and Rules already set forth. all his faculties and powers are inversions of the powers of the spiritual man.
As the personal man is the limitation and inversion of the spiritual man. entirely natural to him. as the inversion is overcome. For only after this is the spiritual man so far grown. but are rather the powers and faculties inherent in the spiritual man. and the experiences which are described have been passed through. his self seeking is the inversion of the Self-seeking which is the very being of the spiritual man: the ceaseless search after the divine and august Self of all beings. and coming naturally into activity. In a single phrase.ASTROCCULT. The spiritual powers. the Rules faithfully followed. and comes into possession and free exercise of his powers. that he can use his proper powers and faculties. and gradually. therefore. are the powers of the grown and liberated spiritual man. For this is the secret of all spiritual powers: they are in no sense an abnormal or supernatural overgrowth upon the material man. This inversion is corrected by keeping the Commandments and Rules. as the spiritual man is disentangled and liberated from psychical bondage. They can only be developed and used as the spiritual man grows
. the spiritual man is extricated. so far disentangled from the psychical bandages and veils which have confined and blinded him.

and this includes the whole infinite
. definitely related throughout the whole wide universe. immortal. This has been well expressed by saying that all souls are fundamentally one with the Oversoul. then this superb law comes into effect: whatever is within the knowledge of any consciousness. within the reach of all consciousness. This is the first thing to be kept in mind. and therefore within the reach of any consciousness. to see. that the Son of God. when the spiritual man is able to stand. indivisible. so the ancient sages had discerned and taught that all consciousness is one.ASTROCCULT.NET
and attains liberation through obedience. to the most distant star or nebula on the dim confines of space. When the consciousness is cleared of psychic bonds and veils. The second thing to be understood and kept in mind is this:
Just as our modern sages have discerned and taught that all matter is ultimately one and eternal. are fundamentally one with the Father. and all Sons of God. so finely correlated and continuous that whatever is perceived by any consciousness is. just as they have discerned and taught that all force is one and eternal. so coordinated throughout the whole universe that whatever affects any atom measurably affects the whole boundless realm of matter and force. infinite. whether actually or potentially. in all that is said of spiritual powers in the third and fourth books of the Sutras.

Let no one imagine that the true life. This he may attain through his fundamental unity with the Oversoul. and may. the very inception. Only thus can we attain to that pure world wherein the spiritual man lives. least of all impure motives or self seeking desires.NET
universe. Nothing impure. and has his being. Only thus can the golden gates be reached and entered. be made a part of his consciousness. whether of perception or of action. and can in no wise dispense with these or curtail them. These must be burnt away before an entrance to that world can be gained. through it he comes into possession of his splendid and immortal powers. nothing unholy can ever cross that threshold. and drawing on its resources. of renunciation.
. if he wills. The Son. by raising himself toward the consciousness above him. and moves. is within his reach. must in no wise be detached from what has gone before. of the spiritual man depends on the purification and moral attainment already detailed. must come often into the presence of the Father. Let it be clearly kept in mind that what is here to be related of the spiritual man. of trial. and his exalted powers. if he would work miracles. of selfless self-conquest and genuine devotion to the weal of all others. The being. the true powers of the spiritual man.ASTROCCULT. This is the birthright of the spiritual man. can be attained by any way except the hard way of sacrifice.

I read the page of a book while inking of something else.
BOOK III
1. the very essence of unreality. At the end of he page. still thinking of something else. and the lofty light of the soul casts upon the clouds of the mid-world the shadow of the spiritual man and of his powers. selflessness.
Therefore ponder well the earlier rules. so
. The binding of the perceiving consciousness to a certain region is attention (dharana). the bastard vesture and the bastard powers of psychism are easily attained. with the same result.
Emerson quotes Sir Isaac Newton as saying that he made his great discoveries by intending his mind on them.NET
But where there is light. sacrifice. That is what is meant here. and read it again. and lay a firm foundation of courage.ASTROCCULT. holiness. even when attained. they are a delusion. there is shadow. Then I wake up. I have no idea of what it is about. yet.

It is the power to focus the consciousness on a given spot. The first is the focussing of the searchlight of consciousness upon the object. I may for a moment fix my attention on some visible object. the effort of attention. The other is the holding of the white beam of light steadily and persistently on the object. The act of will. and hold it there Attention is the first and indispensable step in all knowledge.
This will apply equally to outer and inner things. A prolonged holding of the perceiving consciousness in that region is meditation (dhyana). until it yields up the secret of its details. until what was in the dark slowly comes forth into the light. or I may hold the attention fixedly on it until it reveals far more of its nature than a single glance could perceive. make an effort of attention. fix my thought on what I am reading. and easily take in its meaning.ASTROCCULT. So for things within. the intending of the mind on each word and line of the page. in a single penetrating glance.
2. one may fix the inner glance for a moment on spiritual things. is the power here contemplated. and yields up its immortal
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to speak. just as the eyes are focussed on each word and line. or one may hold the consciousness steadily upon them. Attention to spiritual things is the first step to spiritual knowledge.

Then this attending consciousness is held on its object. Thus is the perceiving consciousness made void. Fourth. When the perceiving consciousness in this meditative is wholly given to illuminating the essential meaning of the object contemplated. to illumine it with comprehending thought. so that it will not remain fixed on spiritual things. the beam of perceiving consciousness is focussed on a certain region or subject. through the effort of attention. of all personality or sense of separateness. Third.
3. all personal bias--all desire merely to indorse a previous opinion and so prove oneself right. the deceitfulness of riches. as it were. the thronging storms of psychical thoughts dissipate and distract the attention. after the Commandments and the Rules have been kept. this is contemplation (samadhi). for until this is done.ASTROCCULT. choke the word of the spiritual message. The cares of this world. and all desire for personal profit or gratification must be quite put away. there is the ardent will to know its meaning.
Let us review the steps so far taken.NET
secret. and is freed from the sense of separateness and personality. But this is possible only for the spiritual man. There must be a purely disinterested love of truth for its own sake. The personal limitation stands
. First.

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aside and lets the All-consciousness come to bear upon the problem. The Oversoul bends its ray upon the object, and illumines it with pure light.

4. When these three, Attention, Meditation Contemplation, are exercised at once, this is perfectly concentrated Meditation (sanyama).

When the personal limitation of the perceiving consciousness stands aside, and allows the All-conscious to come to bear upon the problem, then arises that real knowledge which is called a flash of genius; that real knowledge which makes discoveries, and without which no discovery can be made, however painstaking the effort. For genius is the vision of the spiritual man, and that vision is a question of growth rather than present effort; though right effort, rightly continued, will in time infallibly lead to growth and vision. Through the power thus to set aside personal limitation, to push aside petty concerns and cares, and steady the whole nature and will in an ardent love of truth and desire to know it; through the power thus to make way for the All-consciousness, all great men make their discoveries. Newton, watching the apple fall to the earth, was able to look beyond, to see the subtle waves of force pulsating through apples and worlds and suns and galaxies, and thus to perceive universal gravitation. The

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Oversoul, looking through his eyes, recognized the universal force, one of its own children. Darwin, watching the forms and motions of plants and animals, let the same august consciousness come to bear on them, and saw infinite growth perfected through ceaseless struggle. He perceived the superb process of evolution, the Oversoul once more recognizing its own. Fraunhofer, noting the dark lines in the band of sunlight in his spectroscope, divined their identity with the bright lines in the spectra of incandescent iron, sodium and the rest, and so saw the oneness of substance in the worlds and suns, the unity of the materials of the universe. Once again the Oversoul, looking with his eyes, recognized its own. So it is with all true knowledge. But the mind must transcend its limitations, its idiosyncrasies; there must be purity, for to the pure in heart is the promise, that they shall see God.

5. By mastering this perfectly concentrated Meditation, there comes the illumination of perception. The meaning of this is illustrated by what has been said before. When the spiritual man is able to throw aside the trammels of emotional and mental limitation, and to open his eyes, he sees clearly, he attains to illuminated perception. A poet once said that Occultism is the conscious cultivation of genius; and it is certain that the awakened spiritual man attains to the perceptions of genius. Genius is the vision, the power, of the spiritual man, whether

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its possessor recognizes this or not. All true knowledge is of the spiritual man. The greatest in all ages have recognized this and put their testimony on record. The great in wisdom who have not consciously recognized it, have ever been full of the spirit of reverence, of selfless devotion to truth, of humility, as was Darwin; and reverence and humility are the unconscious recognition of the nearness of the Spirit, that Divinity which broods over us, a Master o'er a slave.

6. This power is distributed in ascending degrees.

It is to be attained step by step. It is a question, not of miracle, but of evolution, of growth. Newton had to master the multiplication table, then the four rules of arithmetic, then the rudiments of algebra, before he came to the binomial theorem. At each point, there was attention, concentration, insight; until these were attained, no progress to the next point was possible. So with Darwin. He had to learn the form and use of leaf and flower, of bone and muscle; the characteristics of genera and species; the distribution of plants and animals, before he had in mind that nexus of knowledge on which the light of his great idea was at last able to shine. So is it with all knowledge. So is it with spiritual knowledge. Take the matter this way: The first subject

is more interior than the means of growth previously described. of Attention. we pass from day to day. its hindrances. its opportunities. Meditation. in virtue of which I begin the next day with a certain advantage. This threefold power. So with all successive days. its duties.
8. I gain a deeper insight into life. I gather a harvest for the evening. a certain spiritual advance and attainment. in growing knowledge and power.ASTROCCULT. I do what I can to solve it. Contemplation.
Very naturally so.
. to learn its lessons. while this threefold power is to be exercised by the spiritual man thus extricated and standing on his feet. until all life becomes radiant and transparent. I try to live my day with aspiration and faith. viewing life with open eyes. By doing this. because the means of growth previously described were concerned with the extrication of the spiritual man from psychic bondages and veils. But this triad is still exterior to the soul vision which is unconditioned.NET
for the exercise of my spiritual insight is my day. to fulfil its duties. free from the seed of mental analyses. In faith and aspiration. with never more than one day to solve at a time.
7. with its circumstances. That is the first step.

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The reason is this: The threefold power we have been considering. There is a higher stage. he would have known. that of the Soul's works. not the laws of motion. and the individual consciousness enters into. even the mind of the spiritual man. and knows. whose graduated thought and being all evolution expresses. It is an activity of the soul. It is not an activity of the higher mind. from whose Life comes eternal motion.ASTROCCULT. these two perceptions: that of living things. There are. rather than a knowing. it is free from mental analysis or mental forms. he would have seen the Soul. but that high Being.
. the focussing of the beam of perceiving consciousness upon some form of manifesting being. so far as we have yet considered it. and that of the Life. This is a being. where the beam of consciousness is turned back upon itself. a being in immortality.
9. Then the perceiving consciousness follows after the moment of Control. the All consciousness. and that of the Soul itself. with a view of understanding it completely. Meditation is. therefore. Contemplation. Then comes the manifestation of the mind-impress of Control. the triad of Attention. First there is the overcoming of the mind-impress of excitation. Had Darwin risen to this. One of the ascending degrees is the development of Control. Had Newton risen to this higher stage.

as it were. insight. This steadying effort of the will upon the perceiving consciousness is Control. controls his thoughts. perhaps terror-stricken. but he takes himself in hand. steadying itself. and.ASTROCCULT. fear. But he exercises an effort of will.NET
This is the development of Control.
. Supposing one is walking in an Indian forest. then the consciousness returns upon itself. and at first violently excites the mind. wonder.
Take a trite example. and takes the perception firmly in hand. The man is excited by astonishment. appears in the sky like a flaming sword. that he must get out of the way as quickly as possible. A charging elephant suddenly appears. and immediately upon it follows perception. and viewing the matter calmly from above. perceives the situation in its true bearings. and finally calculates its orbit and its relation to meteor showers. terror. views the apparition calmly. probably. and recognizes that a certain thing must be done. in this case.
Or a comet. The meaning seems to be this: Some object enters the field of observation. perhaps. The beholder is at first astonished. unheralded. stirring up curiosity. understanding.

but with all knowledge the order of perception is the same: first. and its bearing upon the progressive revelation of life. like control of the muscles by the mind. this will be a true and penetrating spiritual perception. then the control of the mind from within.
10. Through frequent repetition of this process. first.
As an example of control of the muscles by the mind. or a fencer gains skill with a rapier. Innumerable small efforts of attention will make a result which seems well-nigh miraculous. the mind becomes habituated to it. then the Soul steadies itself and controls the pain.
Control of the mind by the Soul. which. the excitation of the mind by the new object impressed on it. comes by practice. with a shock of pain. Where the eyes of the spiritual man are open. upon which follows the perception of the nature of the object. In some such way do our living experiences come to us. and there arises an equable flow of perceiving consciousness. take the ceaseless practice by which a musician gains mastery over his instrument.ASTROCCULT.NET
These are extreme illustrations. for the novice. is really miraculous. and constant voluntary repetition. Then consider
. then the spirit perceives the lesson of the event.

For a concrete example. innumerable small efforts of attention will accumulate into mastery.
As an illustration of the mind's tendency to flit from one object to another. learning arithmetic. till we suddenly come back to consciousness after traversing leagues of space. and a mastery worth winning. three ones are three-and then he thinks of three coins in his pocket. the effort to live that day for the Soul. and to go back within ourselves into the beam of
. where are base-balls. played on by that fine musician. but the mind takes advantage of a moment of slackened attention. We are seeking the meaning of our task. The gradual conquest of the mind's tendency to flit from one object to another. the perceiving mind. next to the toy-shop. make the development of Contemplation. which will purchase so much candy. marbles and so on. to four ones are four. Here again.NET
that far more wonderful instrument. We must learn to conquer this. To him that is faithful unto death.
11. take a small boy. the Master gives the crown of life. in the store down the street. take the gradual conquest of each day. the Soul.ASTROCCULT. and the power of one-pointedness. and flits off from one frivolous detail to another. He begins: two ones are two.--and then he comes back with a jerk. So with us also.

according to their development. When the two processes are equally balanced. then the essence must be comprehended.
This would seem to mean that the insight which is called one-pointedness has two sides. distinctive marks and conditions of being and powers. are
.ASTROCCULT. first. the bringing of our consciousness to a focus in the Soul. There is. equally balanced. the controlled manifold tendency and the aroused one-pointedness are equally balanced parts of the perceiving consciousness. which is a beam of the Oversoul. the sum of all its characteristics and properties. Everything has these two sides. as a whole. and the pole of oneness and spirit. the details must be clearly perceived. the side of difference and the side of unity. First. Through this.NET
perceiving consciousness itself. To see the object truly. the manifold aspect of any object. following this. the perception of its essence. we must see both. the true onepointedness is attained. Then there is the perception of the object as a unity.
13. the inherent character. This is to be held firmly in the mind. When. there is the individual and there is the genus.
12. his the development of one-pointedness. This is the true onepointedness. the pole of matter and diversity.

and those which are not yet definable. as defined. for example. In a fir tree.
Every object has characteristics belonging to its past. Thus we see a rose as that particular flower. we see events and circumstances. but we also see in it the species. we see it in relation to itself. there are the buds at the end of each branch and twig. seeing at once all its individual characteristics and its essential character. we get a twofold view of each object. and in relation to the Eternal.
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made clear.ASTROCCULT. there are the stumps or scars of dead branches. with its colour and scent. we also see in it the lesson set for the soul by the Eternal. Every object has its characteristics which are already quiescent. distinctive marks and conditions of beings and powers are made clear. which carry the still closely
. to Life itself. its present and its future. So in any day.
By the power defined in the preceding sutra. which once represented its foremost growth. For through this power. those which are active. there are the branches with their needles spread out to the air. its peculiar fold of each petal. with its relation to all plants. species and genus. to all life. the family to which it belongs. the inherent character.

because. The second stage is the growing tree. attained through a flash of genius.ASTROCCULT. The third is the splendid pine. in his past. such discoveries really represent acts of spiritual perception. Through perfectly concentrated Meditation on the three stages of development comes a knowledge of past and future.
We have taken our illustrations from natural science.NET
packed needles which are the promise of the future. So with all things. the man.
15. the caterpillar. the angel. since every true discovery in natural science is a divination of a law in nature. the animal. as its past. the chrysalis has. the butterfly. as its future.
16. Difference in stage is the cause of difference in development. In like manner. the chrysalis. even though they are generally not so recognized. acts of perception by the spiritual man. So
. for all things change and grow. the caterpillar. in his future. Both are visible even now in his face.
This but amplifies what has just been said. and among the races of men. The man has. The first stage is the sapling. the butterfly. the angel. Difference of stage is the cause of difference of development. So it is among men. the animal.

He who knows the seed. from the voice of the insect to the music of the spheres. the butterfly that it is destined to be. Past. He who.
. and the heart of to-day. present and future are all in the Eternal. So in like manner he who really knows today.ASTROCCULT. perfect insight into the chrysalis. is the expression of a power of the Eternal. having entry to the consciousness of the Eternal knows the essence of this power. reveals the caterpillar that it has been. knows its parent yesterday and its child tomorrow.NET
we may once more use the same illustration.
It must be remembered that we are speaking of perception by the spiritual man. He who dwells in the Eternal knows all three. Infinite shades of this power are expressed in the infinitely varied tones of sound. and the plant that is to come from it.
17. By perfectly concentrated Meditation on the distinction between them. knows the seed-pod or ear it has come from. Perfectly concentrated Meditation. The sound and the object and the thought called up by a word are confounded because they are all blurred together in the mind.
Sound. like every force. can divine the meanings of all sounds. there comes an understanding of the sounds uttered by all beings.

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In like manner, he who has attained to spiritual vision can perceive the mind-images in the thoughts of others, with the shade of feeling which goes with them, thus reading their thoughts as easily as he hears their words. Every one has the germ of this power, since difference of tone will give widely differing meanings to the same words, meanings which are intuitively perceived by everyone.

18. When the mind-impressions become visible, there comes an understanding of previous births.

This is simple enough if we grasp the truth of rebirth. The fine harvest of past experiences is drawn into the spiritual nature, forming, indeed, the basis of its development. When the consciousness has been raised to a point above these fine subjective impressions, and can look down upon them from above, this will in itself be a remembering of past births.

19. By perfectly concentrated Meditation on mind-images is gained the understanding of the thoughts of others.

Here, for those who can profit by it, is the secret of thought-reading.

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Take the simplest case of intentional thought transference. It is the testimony of those who have done this, that the perceiving mind must be stilled, before the mind-image projected by the other mind can be seen. With it comes a sense of the feeling and temper of the other mind and so on, in higher degrees.

20. But since that on which the thought in the mind of another rests is not objective to the thought-reader's consciousness, he perceives the thought only, and not also that on which the thought rests.

The meaning appears to be simple: One may be able to perceive the thoughts of some one at a distance; one cannot, by that means alone, also perceive the external surroundings of that person, which arouse these thoughts.

21. By perfectly concentrated Meditation on the form of the body, by arresting the body's perceptibility, and by inhibiting the eye's power of sight, there comes the power to make the body invisible.

There are many instances of the exercise of this power, by mesmerists, hypnotists and the like; and we may simply call it an instance of the power of suggestion. Shankara tells us that by this power the popular

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magicians of the East perform their wonders, working on the mind-images of others, while remaining invisible themselves. It is all a question of being able to see and control the mind-images.

22. The works which fill out the life-span may be either immediately or gradually operative. By perfectly concentrated Meditation on these comes a knowledge of the time of the end, as also through signs.

A garment which is wet, says the commentator, may be hung up to dry, and so dry rapidly, or it may be rolled in a ball and dry slowly; so a fire may blaze or smoulder. Thus it is with Karma, the works that fill out the life-span. By an insight into the mental forms and forces which make up Karma, there comes a knowledge of the rapidity or slowness of their development, and of the time when the debt will be paid.

23. By perfectly concentrated Meditation on sympathy, compassion and kindness, is gained the power of interior union with others.

Unity is the reality; separateness the illusion. The nearer we come to reality, the nearer we come to unity of heart. Sympathy, compassion, kindness are modes of this unity of heart, whereby we rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. These things are

So the simile is a good one. By detachment.
25. a tree with perfectly judged control and effort.
This is a pretty image. Elephants possess not only force. They can lift a straw. has a potential consciousness of all things. but poise and fineness of control. even such power as that of the elephant may be gained. there comes a knowledge of things subtle.
26. whether subtle or concealed or obscure. or obscure. the ability to handle with equal mastery things small and great. As one of the wise has said. by withdrawing into the soul's reservoir of power.
24. By perfectly concentrated Meditation on the sun comes a
. or concealed. force and fineness and poise. By perfectly concentrated Meditation on power. we can gain all these. through it. we have no conception of the power of Meditation.
As was said at the outset. concrete and abstract alike. and. a child. each consciousness is related to all consciousness.NET
learned by desiring to learn them.ASTROCCULT. By bending upon them the awakened inner light. An understanding of this great truth will come with practice.

each day. too. with their succession in the great time-dial of the sky. passes backward through one mansion of the stars. By perfectly concentrated Meditation on the fixed pole-star comes a knowledge of the motions of the stars. But the moon also symbolizes the analytic mind. may be understood through perfectly concentrated Meditation. the boundaries of the mansion are learned. astronomers can understand the kindred nature of the stars.
. by a knowledge of the constitution of the sun.ASTROCCULT. the companion planet. with its divided realms.NET
knowledge of the worlds. and these. And it is said that there is a finer astronomy. But the sun also means the Soul. first. and through knowledge of the Soul comes a knowledge of the realms of life.
28. The moon is. where the spiritual man is the astronomer.
27.
This has several meanings: First. which. By watching the moon. By perfectly concentrated Meditation on the moon comes a knowledge of the lunar mansions.
Here again are different meanings.

So in this Sutra the fixed polestar is the eternal spirit about which all things move. and the veil of mystery is only to be raised by Meditation. Wordsworth finely said:
Thou cost preserve the stars from wrong. the projection.NET
Addressing Duty. Deep mysteries attend both. by open-eyed vision of the awakened spiritual man. as well as the star toward which points the axis of the earth. outward and downward. and in the process of gestation which precedes it. behind and above the natural man. stern daughter of the Voice of God.ASTROCCULT. in a certain sense. which are. the awakening of the spiritual man as a self-conscious individual.
29. In this awakening. This is
. of the powers of the spiritual man. the spiritual man's attainment of full self-consciousness. there is a close relation with the powers of the natural man. Perfectly concentrated Meditation on the centre of force in the lower trunk brings an understanding of the order of the bodily powers. And the most ancient heavens through thee are fresh and strong--
thus suggesting a profound relation between the moral powers and the powers that rule the worlds. We are coming to a vitally important part of the teaching of Yoga: namely.

NET
notably true of that creative power of the spiritual man which.
Perfectly concentrated Meditation on the nature of this force means.ASTROCCULT. and its gradual withdrawal from the body of the natural man. through the life-channels of the body. in its spiritual and physical aspects. and then. In due time. but further. not only an insight into the creative force. is abated. when the spiritual man has begun to take form. when embodied in the natural man. which will mean its direction to the body of the spiritual man. becomes the power of generation. and maintains and colours the illusion that the physical life is the dominant and all-important expression of life. from that spiritual point of vantage. but also a gradually attained control of this wonderful force. it flushes the personality with physical force. and become operative in building the body of the spiritual man. the creative force will be drawn off. which gives the one sure foothold for Meditation. as it were. so general and such a fruitful source of misery in our day. in the individual. just as it has been operative in the building of physical bodies. until the over-pressure. already described. Not only is this power the cause of the continuance of the bodily race of mankind. first. through generation in the natural world. Rising. that rising of the consciousness into the spiritual world. it is the key to the dominance of the personal life. and purity takes the
.

let us seek the light. which this Sutra implies. In this way only shall we gain that insight into the order of the bodily powers. which is the cause of so many evils and so much of human shame.
We are continuing the study of the bodily powers and centres of force in their relation to the powers and forces of the spiritual man. to lift the misery and shame from human life. the
. sacrifice. with its consequent over-pressure and attendant misery and shame. There is no other way to lighten the burden. the new birth from above. were they open. condition. This over pressure. there building up an immortal vesture. It is primarily due to spiritual blindness. to blindness regarding the spiritual man. We have already considered the dominant power of physical life. for by this blind ignorance are closed the channels through which. Therefore. the creative force could flow into the body of the spiritual man.ASTROCCULT. further. and. there comes the cessation of hunger and thirst. let us follow after sacrifice and aspiration.NET
place of passion. but spiritual vision. spiritual aspiration. is an abnormal. and that mastery of them. not a natural. the creative power which secures the continuance of physical life. There is no cure for blindness. By perfectly concentrated Meditation on the centre of force in the well of the throat. and ignorance even of his existence.
30.

Inward. perhaps we should say. Therein is the spiritual man. This emotional power.ASTROCCULT. And there. inward. and which. immortal.NET
manner in which. in the palate. The source of this psychical power. its expectations and memories. extending upward to the crown of the head. resides in "the organ which hangs down like a nipple. through aspiration and sacrifice. the power which manifests itself in speech. We come now to the dominant psychic force. its desires and hates. this distinctively psychical force. the organ that hangs down like a nipple. Thus. in the Taittiriya Upanishad it is written: "There is this shining ether in the inner being. or. formed through thought. and in virtue of which the voice may carry so much of the personal magnetism. where the dividing of the hair turns. is the cause of "hunger and thirst. we are told."
Indra is the name given to the creative power of which we have spoken. its centre of activity in the physical body is said to be in the cavity of the throat. golden. in the palate."
.-this is the womb of Indra. with its hopes and fears. it is gradually raised and set to the work of upbuilding the body of the spiritual man. endowing the orator with a tongue of fire. magical in its power to arouse and rule the emotions of his hearers." the psychical hunger and thirst for sensations. which is the source of our two-sided life of emotionalism.

the disturbance of which sets the heart beating miserably with dread. only later does it bring control of the bodily powers.NET
31." Thereafter.
Always. Through perfectly concentrated Meditation on the light in the head
. in the chest. By perfectly concentrated Meditation on the centre of force in the channel called the "tortoise-formed. are turned to the building of the spiritual man. or their spiritual prototypes. the centre. then this force is perfectly controlled. there comes a cessation of "hunger and thirst. just as. through spiritual insight into the immortal.ASTROCCULT. through the control of the psychic power which works through the nerve-centre in the throat.
We are concerned now with the centre of nervous or psychical force below the cavity of the throat. or which produces that sense of terror through which the heart is said to stand still. these forces.
32. in which is felt the sensation of fear.
When the truth concerning fear is thoroughly mastered. there is no more fear." comes steadfastness. it must be remembered. the victory is first a spiritual one. fearless life.

Perhaps it is to this divine sight that the Master alluded. the door way between the natural and the spiritual man. crossing over to the further shore of the sea of death and rebirth. perhaps the "pineal gland. It is the seat of that better and wiser consciousness behind the outward looking consciousness in the forward part of the head. that better and wiser consciousness of "the back of the mind. It is the spiritual man seeking to guide the natural man. it brings a vision of the great Companions of the spiritual man." which views spiritual things. This is suggested in the words of the Upanishad already quoted: "There. all of which may sound very fantastical.
The tradition is. that there is a certain centre of force in the head. where the dividing of the hair turns.
It is said that when this power is fully awakened." which some of our Western philosophers have supposed to be the dwelling of the soul. and seeks to impress the spiritual view on the outward looking consciousness in the forward part of the head.NET
comes the vision of the Masters who have attained. seeking to bring the natural man to concern himself with the things of his immortality. a centre which is. those who have already attained. until one comes to understand it. as it were. who
. extending upward to the crown of the head".ASTROCCULT.

Or through the divining power of tuition he knows all things. that you may see."
This divining power of intuition is the power which lies above and
. in the same measure. of the Sutra just translated. When the eyes are fully opened. the spiritual man is gaining the power to see: learning to open the spiritual eyes. that a seer wrote:
"Though inland far we be. the spiritual man beholds the great Companions standing about him."
33. so. the children of light. Our souls have sight of that immortal sea Which brought us hither.
This is really the supplement. gains force in the back of the mind. And see the Children sport upon the shore And hear the mighty waters rolling evermore. the spiritual side." It is of this same vision of the great Companions. Step by step. he has begun to "know all things. the spiritual view.NET
is reported to have said: "I counsel you to buy of me eye-salve. as the better consciousness.ASTROCCULT. Can in a moment travel thither.

the consciousness of the spiritual man. and to the wisdom of the heart. By steadily seeking after. It is by this process. and blends with the Divine Consciousness above and about it. as full illumination. the flashes of discovery and genius. the consciousness of the spiritual man. "the vision and the faculty divine. yet always embodying a kernel of truth. But this higher power need not work in subordination to the so-called rational mind. comes the knowledge of consciousness.
The heart here seems to mean. it at the same time flows over. the interior.ASTROCCULT. by coming to consciousness as the spiritual man. the rational mind formulates a question and lays it before the intuition. For the consciousness of the spiritual man has this divine quality: while being and remaining a truly individual consciousness. which gives a real answer.
. and finding.NET
behind the so-called rational mind. as it so often does in the Upanishads. often immediately distorted by the rational mind. through which the rational mind brings questions to the intuition for solution."
34 By perfectly concentrated Meditation on the heart. the interior being. a perfect knowledge of consciousness will be attained. as it were. which is related to the heart. spiritual nature. it may act directly. that the truths of science are reached.

who is heir to the immortality of his father. The personal self seeks to feast on life.NET
the consciousness of the great Companions. through the stress and storm of life." Of this new birth it is said: "that which
. and by showing itself to be one with the Divine Consciousness. and yet has the self-conscious. the spiritual man. is hammered into a definite and concrete self-conscious individuality. and thus bringing to life a third being.
35. which. comes a knowledge of the spiritual man. which is eternal. impersonal and abstract. through a failure to perceive the distinction between the personal self and the spiritual man. The problem is. the new birth from above. "conceived of the Holy Spirit. By perfectly concentrated Meditation on experience for the sake of the Self. to blend these two powers. the Higher Self. transferring into it. and blending with it. the spiritual man. This is the true immaculate conception. descends into life. the self-conscious individuality of the second. the personal self. taking the eternal and spiritual being of the first.ASTROCCULT. concrete individuality of his other parent.
The divine ray of the Higher Self. the secret that all consciousness is One and Divine. All personal experience really exists for the sake of another: namely. it reveals the nature of all consciousness. and forms a personality.

setting his heart and thought on the Higher Self. seek to secure the feasts of life for himself. and the hearing. Thereupon are born the divine power of intuition.
When.ASTROCCULT. therefore. the taste and the power of smell of the spiritual man. the spiritual man is built up. daily and hourly giving his life for his divine brother the spiritual man.NET
is born of the Spirit is spirit: ye must be born again. does he seek enjoyment for himself. not understanding that he must live for the other. the touch. live sacrificially. eternal
. the vision. then his sacrifice bears divine fruit. Only through failure to see this. and he comes fully into being as a divine and immortal individuality. When he does understand this. giving himself as a contribution for the building of the spiritual man. in virtue of the perpetual sacrifice of the personal man. and lives for the Higher Self. the whole life of the personal man is for another. and through the radiance ever pouring down from the Higher Self. offering both feasts and his very being on the altar. He exists only to render his very life and all his experience for the building up of the spiritual man. consciousness awakes in him. not for himself."
Rightly understood.
36.

And. Then the disciple becomes a Master. the continuity. the spiritual man comes to birth. besides the senses of the spiritual man. the power of direct and immediate knowledge. there awakes his mind. to hear. In manifestation they are called magical powers. is knowable by any other consciousness. Thus arises within the spiritual man that certain knowledge which is called intuition.NET
in the Heavens. the power of spiritual intuition. and can draw on that vast reservoir for all real needs. Thus the consciousness of the spiritual man. to taste. of divination. divination. of consciousness. stand. hearing. These powers stand in contradistinction to the highest spiritual vision. and touch. is in intimate touch with the consciousness of the great Companions. whereby whatever is known to any consciousness. The spiritual man begins to see. spiritual vision. who lives above our narrow barriers of separateness.
37. The opened powers of tile spiritual man. illumination. to touch. in contradistinction to the higher
. therefore.ASTROCCULT. that divine counterpart of the mind of the physical man. owes its virtue to the unity. as the spiritual man supersedes the natural man. as we have seen.-there awake in him those powers whose physical counterparts we know in the personal man.
The divine man is destined to supersede the spiritual man. This power.

the attainment to full salvation and immortal life. and the spiritual man is felt to be the real individuality. So that. a subordinate. the soul's growth and splendour have no limit.ASTROCCULT. and after the senses of the spiritual man have awaked. but rises ever to higher and higher glories. if the spiritual powers we have been considering are regarded as in any sense final.
38. the sense of individuality. the consciousness is transferred to the other body.
In due time. and must in no wise be regarded as the end of the way. Thereafter the physical man is felt to be a secondary. for the path has no end. they are powers truly magical.
. But viewed from below. a barrier to the far higher powers of the divine man. as the powers natural to a four-dimensional being will appear magical to a three-dimensional being. and by learning the method of sassing. they are a hindrance. after the spiritual man has been formed and grown stable through the forces and virtues already enumerated. This is. an instrument through whom the spiritual man works. in a sense.NET
divine power above them. Through the weakening of the causes of bondage. from the physical to the spiritual man. from the standpoint of normal physical experience. there comes the transfer of the dominant consciousness.

the finer consciousness of the spiritual man begins to shine in the background of the mind. and where thieves break through and steal: but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven. then becomes a matter of recollection. Therefore it is said: "Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth.ASTROCCULT. than in the pleasures or occupations of the personality. The first may also be described as detach meet. and thus to the spiritual man.NET
yet it is not the final goal or resting place. there will your heart be also. where moth and rust cloth corrupt. The transfer of the sense of individuality to this finer consciousness. When that delusion abates and is held in check. and comes from the conquest of the delusion that the personal self is the real man."
39. and where thieves do not break through nor steal: for where your treasure is. and an understanding of the method of passing from the one consciousness to the other. of attention. where neither moth nor rust cloth corrupt. Through mastery of the upward-life comes freedom from the
. primarily. a matter of taking a deeper interest in the life and doings of the spiritual man. but only the beginning of the greater way.
The means for this transfer are described as the weakening of the causes of bondage.

of upward will. we use a symbol. a clear interior meaning. often manifested in abnormal psychical experiences. When we speak of the disciple's path as a path of thorns. and the same symbol is used here. morass. and thorny places. within this. and finally transfers the conscious individuality to him. and. and. that by mastery of a certain power. and is not pierced by the thorns in the path. of levitating the physical body. there comes the ability to walk on water. It means the strong power of aspiration. The upward-life means something more than the power. so characteristic of this author. not quite so obvious. which first builds. in which there is an obvious exterior meaning. or to pass over thorny places without wounding the feet.
Here is one of the sentences.NET
dangers of water. and then awakes the spiritual man. and akin to levitation. and the power of ascension is gained. for it is he who passes safely over the waters of death and rebirth. indeed.
But there is a deeper meaning.
The surface meaning is. called here the upward-life. of the Eastern spirit. or near-by physical objects. Therefore it is said that he who would tread the path of power must look for a home in the air.ASTROCCULT. but far more vital.
.

one might call it.
But the text seems to mean more than this and to have in view the "vesture of the colour of the sun" attributed by the Upanishads to the spiritual man.ASTROCCULT. when the personality is brought thoroughly under control of the spiritual man. he comes to the immortal. a strong personal magnetism. the personality is endowed with a new force. this is written in the Katha Upanishad: "A hundred and one are the heart's channels. through the life-currents which bind them together.NET
and afterwards in the ether.
40. that." This is the power of ascension spoken of in the Sutra. that vesture which a disciple has thus described: "The Lord shall change our vile body. it is said that this binding-life unites the upward-life to the downward-life. and these lives have their analogies in the "vital breaths" in the body. perhaps "body of radiance" would better translate the
. Going up this. such as is often an appanage of genius.
Of the upward-life.
In the Upanishads. By mastery of the binding-life comes radiance. The thought in the text seems to be. that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body". of these one passes to the crown.

in thought transference or telepathy. so it may well be that. or by water. carried by the same "thought-swift" medium. it may be.
41. while light or heat or magnetic waves. But then is a finer hearing. comes the power of spiritual hearing. that the body of the full-grown spiritual man is radiant or luminous.ASTROCCULT.
Physical sound. who have anointed their eyes wit! eye-salve. whose medium of transmission would seem to be the ether. the far finer ether through which the power of gravity works. it would seem "as quick as thought".-for those at least. take eight minutes for the journey. travelling from the sun to the earth.
. is carried by the air. we are told. From perfectly concentrated Meditation on the correlation of hearing and the ether.NET
Greek. it is mathematically certain that the pull of gravitation does not take as much as eight seconds. the thoughts travel by the same way. so that they see. or even the eighth of a second. the teaching seems to be. heat and magnetic waves.
In both these passages. but. perhaps no that ether which carries light. The pull of gravitation travels. or some medium on the same plane of substance. For. iron.

will come the power to traverse the ether. They may speak to him either in wordless thoughts. and by thinking of it as light as thistle-down. in the etheric body of the spiritual man. so to speak.
42. besides the constant injunction to detachment.
. its gradual acclimatization. he grows able to hear and clearly distinguish the speech of the great Companions. the former being the body of dreams. the spiritual man comes into more complete mastery of it. through perfectly concentrated Meditation. when he wakes up on the other side of dreamland.
It has been said that he who would tread the path of power must look for a home in the air. By perfectly concentrated Meditation em the correlation of the body with the ether. the latter. or in perfectly definite words and sentences. the body of the spiritual man. and then an etheric body. This would seem to mean. and as. who counsel and comfort him on his way. The gradual accustoming of the consciousness to its new etheric vesture.NET
The transfer of a word by telepathy is the simplest and earliest form of the "divine hearing" of the spiritual man. is what our text seems to contemplate. that he must be prepared to inhabit first a psychic. as that power grows.ASTROCCULT. and afterwards in the ether.

(whether in the body.) how that he was caught up into paradise. (whether in the body.NET
43. who sees and hears beyond the veil. which it is not lawful for a man to utter.) such a one caught up to the third heaven."
The condition is. as it were. liquid. the subtle. I cannot tell. the purposive.
44. When the piercing vision of the awakened spiritual man is directed to the forms of matter. the inherent. from within. unspoken] words. I cannot tell: God knoweth.ASTROCCULT. from behind
. the elemental. then the veil which conceals the light is worn away. which is outside the body and not conditioned by it. which is far-reaching and not confined to the body. Mastery of the elements comes from perfectly concentrated Meditation on their five forms: the gross. briefly. or out of the body. and heard unspeakable [or. or whether out of the body. that of the awakened spiritual man. When that condition of consciousness is reached. radiant and ionic. gaseous.
Perhaps the best comment on this is afforded by the words of Paul: "I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago. These five forms are analogous to those recognized by modern physics: solid. And I knew such a man. I cannot tell: God knoweth.

equivalent to the injunction: "Inquire of the earth. Further. involve the power to disintegrate material forms. the sword cleaves it not. the spiritual man can impart something of this quality and temper to his bodily vesture. the power of creative will. which are the endowment of the body. the spiritual body is unassailable. perhaps. Fire burns it not. the air. together with its unassailable force.
. so that. the power to accomplish his will. of course. as the commentator says. the etheric body of the spiritual man.
The body in question is."
45. of the secrets they hold for you. then perfect mastery over the "beggarly elements" is attained. He is said to possess eight powers: the atomic. perhaps. The development of your inner senses will enable you to do this. the power of gravitation. These are the endowments of the spiritual man. the power of boundless reach. the power of command. Thereupon will come the manifestation of the atomic and other powers. the power of levitation. the power of assimilating himself with the nature of the atom. which will. This is. "he can touch the moon with the tip of his finger". water wets it not. And. the power of limitless extension.NET
the scenes. it is said. and the water. the correlative of levitation. dry winds parch it not.ASTROCCULT.

and I will give him the morning star. apprehend. fourth sight has the power of extension through the whole field of vision. for example. firm as the diamond. visual perception. to him will I give power over the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron. sight. fifth.NET
46.
The spiritual man is shapely."
47. their inherence. the thought: "I perceive". their power to grasp their distinctive nature. it is used for the purposes of the Seer. it always carries with its operations self-consciousness. Shapeliness. it has its distinctive form of perception. Mastery over the powers of perception and action comes through perfectly concentrated Meditation on their fivefold forms. even to the utmost star.
Take. second. Therefore it is written: "These things saith the Son of God.ASTROCCULT. the power to grasp. beautiful strong. This possesses. force. that is. So with the
. the element of self-consciousness in them. who hath his eyes like unto a flame of fire. first. perceive. and their purposiveness. third. namely. the temper of the diamond: these are the endowments of that body. and his feet are like fine brass: He that overcometh and keepeth my works unto the end. beauty.

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other senses. and can bring his force to bear directly. Perfectly concentrated Meditation on each sense. and of the world on which they report collectively. he attains to mastery over all things and to a knowledge of all. He is.
The spiritual man is enmeshed in the web of the emotions. a viewing it from behind and within.
49. and impeded by the mental forms of separateness and materialism. brings a mastery of the scope and true character of each sense. independent of instruments. Thought has now become his means of locomotion. independent of instruments. Thence comes the power swift as thought. and the mastery over matter. to that he goes. therefore. Among these is the power to traverse space with the swiftness of thought.
We are further enumerating the endowments of the spiritual man. so that whatever place the spiritual man thinks of. desire. fear. as is possible for the spiritual man. ambition.
48. these obstacles completely overcome. then the spiritual man stands forth in his own
. passion. When the spiritual man is perfectly disentangled from the psychic body. When these meshes are sundered. in that place he already is. wherever he wills.

able to see. lest attachment to things evil arise once more. strong. thou hast seen thy soul in its bloom and recognized it. since. in the real. which permits no exclusive particular good. This twofold sin brings its reacting punishment. and heard the voice of the silence. wise. For this self indulgence of the personality is a double sin against the real. To such a one it is said: "Thou art now a disciple. a sin against the cleanness of life. He uses divine powers. sows the seed of future sorrow.
The seeking of indulgence for the personal self. By absence of all self-indulgence at this point. There should be complete overcoming of allurement or pride in the invitations of the different realms of life. whether through passion or ambition. working together with divine Companions. with a divine scope and energy. able to stand. mighty. But ceasing from self-indulgence brings purity. liberation.ASTROCCULT. when the seeds of bondage to sorrow are destroyed."
50. able to speak.
. all spiritual possessions are held in common. able to hear. spiritual life.NET
wide world.
51. pure spiritual being is attained. thou hast conquered desire and attained to self-knowledge. its confining bondage to sorrow. and a sin against the universal being.

present and future.NET
The commentator tells us that disciples.
. especially. he no longer sees life as projected into past. third. These are the dangers of the anteroom. "Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God. This would seem to be the same thought. fourth. that wisdom born of the unveiling of Time's delusion. those who are in the realm of allurements. and he shall go no more out. the caution in the text is addressed. seekers for union. second. To the second. since these are forms of the mind. as he breaks through into the unseen worlds. are of four degrees: first.
The Upanishads say of the liberated that "he has passed beyond the triad of time". More modern teachers would express the same truth by a warning against the delusions and fascinations of the psychic realm. those who stand firm in pure spiritual life. but beholds all things spread out in the quiet light of the Eternal. Safety lies in passing on swiftly into the inner chamber. which open around the disciple. those who are entering the path. and to point to that clear-eyed spiritual perception which is above time. those who have won the victory over matter and the senses.ASTROCCULT. From perfectly concentrated Meditation on the divisions of time and their succession comes that wisdom which is born of discernment."
52.

divining power is starlike.
53. so that all things are spread before it together. or things to come. not distinguished by difference of kind. Hence comes discernment between things which are of like nature. and illumines all things. because it shines with its own light. things present. no longer distinguishable by the mind. the object returns to its primal unity. in the
. When the prism is withdrawn. yet clearly knowable by that high power of spiritual discernment. as also in the preceding Sutra. The wisdom which is born of discernment is starlike. time and space are creations of the mind. and all conditions of things. but in the Eternal.ASTROCCULT. it discerns all things. the threefold prism through which the real object appears to us distorted and refracted. which is above the mind.
That wisdom. it discerns without succession: simultaneously. Nought is hid from it. says the commentator. of illumination. Here.NET
Then shall the disciple live neither in the present nor the future. because it rises on high. character or position. whether things past. that intuitive.
54. for it is beyond the threefold form of time. we are close to the doctrine that distinctions of order.

as though under one ray of the sun. though very few. and the seeds of future sorrow must be burned up utterly. Then. This power has been beautifully described by Columba: "Some there are. must first be washed pure of all stains of passion and darkness. and the enumeration of his
. both the vesture and the wearer of the vesture being alike pure.
INTRODUCTION TO BOOK IV
The third book of the Sutras has fairly completed the history of the birth and growth of the spiritual man. says the commentator.
The vesture. at one and the same moment. then perfect spiritual life is attained. to whom Divine grace has granted this: that they can clearly and most distinctly see. When the vesture and the spiritual man are alike pure."
55.NET
single light of the divine. the inmost part of their mind being marvellously enlarged.ASTROCCULT. the spiritual man enters into perfect spiritual life. even the entire circuit of the whole world with its surroundings of ocean and sky.

and prepares him for the splendid. for example. we can hear it
.ASTROCCULT. and that all that is written concerns him and his adventures.
In the fourth book. since it unmasks the nature of the personality. we are to consider what one might call the mechanism of salvation. a phrase or two indicates the sweep of some universal law. growth.NET
powers. at least so far as concerns that first epoch in his immortal life." which is the wakeful enemy of all who seek to tread the path. we may be able to find our way through this thicket of tangled words. and fulness of power. Yet it is hoped that.
The last part of the last book needs little introduction. Even now. and supersedes. are given to the great triune mystery and illusion of Time. In a sense. the ideally simple working of cosmic law which brings the spiritual man to birth. by keeping our eyes fixed on the spiritual man. which immediately succeeds. that psychical "mind. and keep in our hands the clue to the mystery. it is the most important part of the whole treatise. remembering that he is the hero of the story. the life of the natural man.
The Sutras are here brief to obscurity. toilsome further stages of his great journey home. only a few words.

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whispering the doubt whether that can be a good path, which thus sets "mind" at defiance.

If this, then, be the most vital and fundamental part of the teaching, should it not stand at the very beginning? It may seem so at first; but had it stood there, we should not have comprehended it. For he who would know the doctrine must lead the life, doing the will of his Father which is in Heaven.

BOOK IV

1. Psychic and spiritual powers may be inborn, or they may be gained by the use of drugs, or by incantations, or by fervour, or by Meditation.

Spiritual powers have been enumerated and described in the preceding sections. They are the normal powers of the spiritual man, the antetype, the divine edition, of the powers of the natural man. Through these powers, the spiritual man stands, sees, hears, speaks, in the spiritual world, as the physical man stands, sees, hears, speaks

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in the natural world.

There is a counterfeit presentment of the spiritual man, in the world of dreams, a shadow lord of shadows, who has his own dreamy powers of vision, of hearing, of movement; he has left the natural without reaching the spiritual. He has set forth from the shore, but has not gained the further verge of the river. He is borne along by the stream, with no foothold on either shore. Leaving the actual, he has fallen short of the real, caught in the limbo of vanities and delusions. The cause of this aberrant phantasm is always the worship of a false, vain self, the lord of dreams, within one's own breast. This is the psychic man, lord of delusive and bewildering psychic powers.

Spiritual powers, like intellectual or artistic gifts, may be inborn: the fruit, that is, of seeds planted and reared with toil in a former birth. So also the powers of the psychic man may be inborn, a delusive harvest from seeds of delusion.

Psychical powers may be gained by drugs, as poverty, shame, debasement may be gained by the self-same drugs. In their action, they are baneful, cutting the man off from consciousness of the restraining power of his divine nature, so that his forces break forth exuberant,

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like the laughter of drunkards, and he sees and hears things delusive. While sinking, he believes that he has risen; growing weaker, he thinks himself full of strength; beholding illusions, he takes them to be true. Such are the powers gained by drugs; they are wholly psychic, since the real powers, the spiritual, can never be so gained.

Incantations are affirmations of half-truths concerning spirit and matter, what is and what is not, which work upon the mind and slowly build up a wraith of powers and a delusive well-being. These, too, are of the psychic realm of dreams.

Lastly, there are the true powers of the spiritual man, built up and realized in Meditation, through reverent obedience to spiritual law, to the pure conditions of being, in the divine realm.

2. The transfer of powers from one venture to another comes through the flow of the natural creative forces.

Here, if we can perceive it, is the whole secret of spiritual birth, growth and life Spiritual being, like all being, is but an expression of the Self, of the inherent power and being of Atma. Inherent in the Self are consciousness and will, which have, as their lordly heritage, the

or in moving. through which blossomed forth the Self's powers of perceiving and of will: the power to see. to a knowledge of his imprisonment. So may the will of the Self manifest itself in the uttering of words. Nor will migration thither be difficult for the Self.NET
wide sweep of the universe throughout eternity. to hear. and raise his consciousness thereto. Where the Self is. and when the Self. thus come to self-consciousness. with its expression of his inherent powers. there will a vesture be built up. and whatever powers of action there are throughout the seven worlds.
Since through ages the desire of the Self has been toward the natural world. wherein the Self sought to mirror himself that he might know himself. to walk. and. where the heart is. for the Self is one with the Eternal. since the divine is no strange
. or whatsoever perceptive powers there may be. It is but a question of the vesture through which these powers shall shine forth. with it. there will its powers be. or in handling. tasting. hearing. therefore a vesture of natural elements came into being. shall set his desire on the divine and real world. to speak. And the consciousness of the Self may make itself manifest as seeing. just as the white sunlight may divide into many-coloured rays. there will the treasure be also. And wherever the consciousness and desire of the ever-creative Self are fixed. feeling.ASTROCCULT. the spiritual vesture shall be built up for him there. to handle.

turning the little rills from the irrigation tank now this way and that. until the even How of water vitalizes the whole field. But it is not the husbandman who makes them grow. then the ear. He plants and
. he sows his seed. finally. then the alchemy of sunlight which. gathers hydrogen from the water and carbon from the gases in the air. like the husbandman in his field. It is. which brings forth after its kind. penetrable to air and rain. The apparent. immediate cause is not the true cause of the creative nature-powers. it takes obstacles away.ASTROCCULT. he waters the seed-laden earth. The husbandman but removes the obstacles. first.
3. and mingles them in the hydro-carbons of plant growth. and. but the house of his home.NET
or foreign land for him.
The husbandman tills his field. the wholly occult vital powers of the plant itself. stored up through ages. and flowing down from the primal sources of life. first the blade. removing obstacles from the channels. then the full corn in the ear. carefully covering it. the miraculous plasmic power in the grain of seed. where he dwells from everlasting. but. And so the plants germinate and grow. in presence of the green colouring matter of the leaves. for fear of birds and the wind. breaking up the clods of earth into fine mould.

creative forces and powers.NET
waters. as the Self.
. in turn attaches itself to three vestures: first. built up about the physical self. begins to see and feel itself in the finer body. He tills and sows. breaking through this first illusion. there arise the states of bodily consciousness.
When the Self attributes itself to the physical body. for the manifestation of its powers. then to the finer body.
4. or. says a great Teacher. The divine Self puts forth. but the growth of the spiritual man comes through the surge and flow of divine. Finally it stands forth radiant.ASTROCCULT. luminous.
The Self. a new and finer vesture. and thirdly to the causal body. Here. God gives the increase. to speak exactly. the body of the spiritual man. then the states of consciousness of the finer body come into being. but God gives the increase. Vestures of consciousness are built up in conformity with the Boston of the feeling of selfhood.
So with the finer husbandman of diviner fields.
When the Self. to the physical body. again. joyous. to find selfhood there.

with its own splendour and everlastingness. everywhere and forever. Consciousness is ultimately One. or the full glory of the Divine. in each individual who is but a facet of that Self. is the elective cause of many states of consciousness. it is ever the Light. the Consciousness. The Eternal. or the murky flame of the psychic and passional. until it dwells forever in the Eternal.
. Whether it breaks through as the dull fire of physical life. for there remains the fourth state. to build up the wide and luminous fields of consciousness that belong to that. is the One Self of All Beings. all a question of raising the sense of selfhood. or the radiance of the spiritual man. though one. the Father. In the different fields of manifestation.ASTROCCULT.NET
the finer body and its states of consciousness arise and grow together.
Nor must it dwell forever there. It must learn to find itself in the causal body.
5.
It is all a question of the states of consciousness.
But the Self must not dwell permanently there.
Here is the splendid teaching of oneness that lies at the heart of the Eastern wisdom. Consciousness is One. the divine. And so.

The one Consciousness is the effective cause of all states of consciousness. So do the states of consciousness run along the circle of birth and death. Pain's surcease brings pleasure back again. Age follows on the heels of youth. free from self and
.
6. Hunger alternates with satiety. on every plane. Hope has its shadow of fear. the states of consciousness run their circle. and where there is egotism there is ever the seed of future sorrow.NET
naught but the Light. Birth involves death. and the full play of bodily life begins. its progression carries with it inevitable limitations.
With the psychic. is the very essence of the psychic. the alternation between prize and penalty is swifter. which. indeed. So here. Desire carries bondage in its womb. In all psychic states there is egotism. Pleasure passes through deadness into pain.ASTROCCULT. too. that which is born of Contemplation is free from the seed of future sorrow. Meetings have their partings. Among states of consciousness.
Where the consciousness breaks forth in the physical body. or it is no hope. Exclusive love is tortured by jealousy.
But where the pure spiritual consciousness begins.

without longing or fear. no longer from sorrow to sorrow. Its growth and splendour have no limit. The good passes to better. His one desire is. Works done with self-seeking bear within them the seeds of future sorrow. like the passionate mood of the lover. as so often happens in life. best. is part pleasure and part pain.NET
stain. or incurs the penalty of pain. He comes directly in line with the divine Will. His heart dwells in the Eternal. The soul now passes.
7. present pain is future gain. all his desires are set
. the ancient law of retaliation ceases. The works of followers after Union make neither for bright pleasure nor for dark pain The works of others make for pleasure or pain. to know the will of the Father and finish His work. or a mingling of these.
The man of desire wins from his works the reward of pleasure. neither pain to be avoided nor pleasure to be gained inspires his work. He fears no hell and desires no heaven. for him who has gone beyond desire.ASTROCCULT. his guerdon. but from glory to glory. and works cleanly and immediately.
But. according to the proverb. or. conversely. the penalty of sorrow lapses and is no more imposed. whose desire is set on the Eternal.

8. From the force inherent in works comes the manifestation of those dynamic mind images which are conformable to the ripening out of each of these works. reproducing themselves in one personality after another.ASTROCCULT.NET
on the Eternal. Let us think of a man. Karma. He makes a red wound in his victim's breast. when he comes to be born again. in his own mind. upon which. of his bondage or freedom.
Now let us take an imaginary case. with its wound still there. that body will become his outermost vesture. with murderous intent in his heart. In other words he has made a deep wound in his own psychic body. So the man will be born
.
We are now to consider the general mechanism of Karma. to see how these forces may work out. bodily tissue will be built up. at the same instant he paints. is the concern of the personal man. and. indeed. striking with a dagger at his enemy. in order that we may pass on to the consideration of him who is free from Karma. It is the succession of the forces which built up the personal man. a picture of that wound: a picture dynamic with all the fierce will-power he has put into his murderous blow.

NET
maimed. so that works done in the past may ripen and come to fruition. or place. so does this divine ray exercise a selective power on the dynamic mind-images. and making secret things palpable and visible. coming to the surface. which is a ray
.
9. he is unguarded at that point. and any trifling accidental blow will pierce the broken Joints of his psychic armour. revealing the hidden. Thus do the dynamic mind-images manifest themselves. read at different times. the same over-ruling selective power. are brought together by the correspondence between memory and dynamic impression.
In like manner.ASTROCCULT. or time. somewhat as the light of the magic lantern projects the details of a picture on the screen. bringing together into one day of life the seeds gathered from many days. a passage of poetry will call up in the mind like passages of many poets. the effect is brought about by the ray of creative force sent down by the Self. The memory constantly exemplifies this power. So a prayer may call up many prayers. in the ripening out of mind-images into bodily conditions. or with the predisposition to some mortal injury. Works separated by different nature.
Just as.

to mirror itself in a reflection.
The whole series of dynamic mind-images.NET
of the Higher Self. Therefore the initial impulse behind these dynamic mind-images comes from the Self and is the descending ray of the Self. visible bodily conditions or outward circumstances are brought about. self-knowledge. The series of dynamic mind-images is beginningless. have their fruition in a finer world. gathers together from different births and times and places those mind-images which are conformable.ASTROCCULT. wherein the soul reaches toward the Eternal. to embody its powers in an outward form. from which the rest arose. The impulse is
. is a part of the mechanism which the Self employs.
10. because Desire is everlasting. building the vesture of the spiritual man. so the far more dynamic powers of aspiration. and may be grouped in the frame of a single life or a single event. which make up the entire history of the personal man.
Just as the dynamic mind-images of desire ripen out in bodily conditions and circumstances. so that it cannot be said that there is any first member of the series of images. to the end of self-expression. selfrealization. Through this grouping. and by these the soul is taught and trained.

therefore. by the wish for personal reward.
We are still concerned with the personal life in its bodily vesture.ASTROCCULT. Since the dynamic mind-images are held together by impulses of desire.
11.NET
beginningless. by the support of outer things desired. it is to turn to the Eternal. The driving-force is withdrawn and directed to the upbuilding of the spiritual body. and build up for him his finer vesture in a finer world. to be checked. which is from everlasting. and with the process whereby the forces which have upheld it are gradually transferred to the life of the spiritual man.
. and so become aspiration. the self reproduction of dynamic mind-images ceases. Desire is not to cease. when these cease. the day of liberation dawn?
The answer is given in the Sutra just translated. by the substratum of mental habit. that the time of imprisonment may come to an end. which have built the conditions of life after life in this world of bondage. since it comes from the Self.
How is the current to be changed? How is the flow of self-reproductive mind-images.

which has always been held to be of great moment in the Eastern wisdom: the thought that the division of time into past. a new body of bondage. I am". according to their natures.ASTROCCULT. depends on the difference of phase of their properties. future. With the same purpose.
Here we come to a high and difficult matter. present. an illusion. present. future all dwell together in the eternal Now. in great measure.
The discernment of this truth has been held to be so necessarily a part of wisdom. unto the end of the world". the beginning and the
. that one of the names of the Enlightened is: "he who has passed beyond the three times: past.NET
When the building impulses and forces are withdrawn. and again. The difference between that which is past and that which is not yet come. ceases with them.
12. "I am with you always. that past. using the eternal present for past and future alike."
So the Western Master said: "Before Abraham was. the tendency to manifest a new psychical body. the Master speaks of himself as "the alpha and the omega. present and future is.

by himself. Conceived by God."
In the eternal Now. These properties. both past and future are consummated."
And a Master of our own days writes: "I feel even irritated at having to use these three clumsy words--past. without past or future. Eternity then is not identical with unending time. the Swedish philosopher. they are about as ill adapted for the purpose.. related to time as the perfect to the imperfect . as an axe for fine carving.NET
end. and needs not. are of the nature of
.ASTROCCULT. it is a different form of existence. whether manifest or latent. to plot out his existence in a series of moments. and future."
13. The eternal is a constant present without beginning or end. but conceived. Miserable concepts of the objective phases of the subjective whole. without limitations. He lives undividedly. has well stated the same truth:
"Neither past nor future can exist to God. Man as an entity for himself must have the natural limitations for the part. as man. present. man's eternal life is clothed in the limitations we call time. the first and the last. man is eternal in the divine sense..
Bjorklund.

latent or manifest. for example. which stands opposite to perceiving consciousness. Inertness.
The Three Potencies are the three manifested modifications of the one primal material. when either directly or by reflection. Darkness.
14. that a sound is audible. Passion. and the object remains
. when it consists of vibrations within the compass of the auditory nerve. So.
We should be inclined to express the same law by saying. all things that present themselves to the perceiving consciousness are compounded of these three. whether subjective or objective. or inert.NET
the Three Potencies. or passional. Every mental state is either good.ASTROCCULT. These Three Potencies are called Substance. Force. Every material manifestation is a projection of substance into the empty space of darkness. it sends forth luminiferous vibrations within the compass of the retina and the optic nerve. This is a fundamental doctrine of the Sankhya system. The external manifestation of an object takes place when the transformations ore in the same phase. or viewed rather for their moral colouring. Goodness. that an object is visible. Vibrations below or above that compass make no impression at all.

may be easy from a higher point of view.ASTROCCULT. and. so the perception of things past.
There seems to be a further suggestion that the appearance of an object in the "present." or "future. as.
So. and things to come. though the kettle is sending forth heat vibrations closely akin to light. The
. The paths of material things and of states of consciousness are distinct." or its remaining hid in the "past. while Karma depends on perception and will. a kettle of boiling water in a dark room. the external manifestation of the object takes place. for example. when the vibrations of the object and those of the perceptive power are in the same phase.
15. as is manifest from the fact that the same object may produce different impressions in different minds.NET
invisible. just as the range of vibrations perceived might be increased by the development of finer senses." is likewise a question of phase.
Having shown that our bodily condition and circumstances depend on Karma. the sage recognizes the fact that from this may be drawn the false deduction that material things are in no wise different from states of mind.

by rising to a realm above them.
. they all come to the same wise conclusion. with the moderns. holding that matter is the manifestation of spirit as a whole. for how could they remain objective to others. yet its material expression is ordered. and that aspiration which builds the vesture of the spiritual man. everywhere obedient to law. but is rather the manifestation of the totality of invisible Being. carrying on the thought that. consistent.ASTROCCULT. but rather intuitional and spiritual. Nor do material objects depend upon a single mind. to all philosophers. So that our system is neither materialistic.NET
same thought has occurred. and not by denying their existence on their own plane. by various reasonings. not subject to the whims or affirmations of a single mind. that the material world is not made by the mood of any human mind. or Ether. a reflection or externalization of spirit. Unwelcome material things may be escaped by spiritual growth. and.
16. through obedience. ruled by law. while the universe is spiritual. and still occurs. and. like spirit. with the ancients. The path of liberation is not through denial of matter but through denial of the wills of self. whether we call this Mahat. if that mind ceased to think of them?
This is but a further development of the thought of the preceding Sutra. nor idealistic in the extreme sense.

the noise of a passing train. as. we perceive what we resent. the mind perceives only those which conform to the hue of its Karma. When he has exhausted for the time the nourishment to be drawn from any one person or thing. tinged with the colour of the object. and no longer attempts to pass through it. As soon as he needs a new object. for example.NET
17. or is not. while others. that
.
This spiritual law has been well expressed by Emerson:
"Through solidest eternal things the man finds his road as if they did not subsist.
The simplest manifestation of this is the matter of attention. even though close at hand. The rest remain unseen. on the other hand. that out of the vast totality of objects ever present in the universe. An object is perceived. according as the mind is. used to the sound.
But the deeper meaning is. all else passes unnoticed. and does not once suspect their being. suddenly he beholds it. or. Our minds apprehend what they wish to apprehend. do not notice it at all. but takes another way. or not perceived.ASTROCCULT.

and though still in his immediate neighbourhood. all hoping and fearing. who is the lord of them. The movements of the psychic nature are perpetually objects of perception. in some new and strange disguise.
To the psychic nature belong all the ebb and flow of emotion. he does not suspect its presence. sound and well. at times we believe we have seen them all. both for understanding and for practice. Nothing is dead.NET
object is withdrawn from his observation. remains unchanging. Jesus is not dead. and could easily tell the names under which they go. nor Paul. So that there results the emotion-soaked personality. with its dark and narrow view
.ASTROCCULT.
Here is teaching of the utmost import. and endure mock funerals and mournful obituaries. for the same multitude. and there they stand looking out of the window. make up mental life. nor Aristotle. which. nor Mahomet. the doubt and questioning. desire and hate: the things that make the multitude of men and women deem themselves happy or miserable. since the Spiritual Man. he is very well alive: nor John. To it also belong the measuring and comparing."
18. Men feign themselves dead.

looks down serene upon this turmoil of the outer life. terror driven personality that is life itself for all but all of mankind. claims to be absolute. This standing back is the first step. outward. standing in the quiet light of the Eternal. not the living soul at all. asserting that life is for it and through it. but only a spectacle which the true man observes. as objective.ASTROCCULT. and therefore not the real Self. This psychic self. therefore. detachment. it would clip the
. it seeks to impose on the whole being of man its narrow. Let us under stand this. materialistic. since it can be seen as an object. The second. faithless view of life and the universe.
Yet the personality is not the true man.
One first masters the personality. the personality.
This is a further step toward overthrowing the tyranny of the "mind": the psychic nature of emotion and mental measuring.NET
of life: the shivering. from within. and draw ourselves up inwardly to the height of the Spiritual Man. is recollection. by steadily watching its ebb and flow. the "mind. The Mind is not self-luminous.
19. who. to maintain the vantage-ground thus gained." by thus looking down on it from above.

20. it never really attains to knowledge." The proof is. when the Spiritual Man.
.
Life cannot be known by the "mind. not self-luminous." its secrets cannot be learned through the "mind. the vision of the Spiritual Man. if we admit its knowledge. truly is. but only an object of observation. it ever falls short of wisdom.
The truth is that the "mind" knows neither external things nor itself. the ceaseless strife and contradiction of opinion among those who trust in the mind.NET
wings of the soaring Soul.
True knowledge of the "mind" comes. Its measuring and analyzing. by perceiving and steadily affirming that the psychic self is no true self at all. or. nor any sense of real values. hating and desiring.ASTROCCULT. Ceaselessly active. because it is pervaded by the illusion that it truly knows. which comes only through intuition. first. Much less can the "mind" know itself. its hoping and fearing. watched by the serene eyes of the Spiritual Man. But the Soul dethrones the tyrant. the more so. never give it a true measure of life. Nor could the Mind at the same time know itself and things external to it.

To this strategy the argument is opposed by our philosopher.
21. and so on. that this would be no true solution. for its supremacy. For we should have to find yet another part of the mind to view the first observing part. and a confusion of memories." against the Real. But the truth is divined long before it is clearly seen. and then begins the long battle of the "mind. stands detached. is to assert that this seeing is the work of a part of itself. when it feels that it is beginning to be circumvented and seen through. regarding the "mind" from above.
One of the expedients by which the "mind" seeks to deny and thwart the Soul. and then another to observe this. but only a postponement of the solution. then there would be an endless series of perceiving Minds. If the Mind be thought of as seen by another more inward Mind. and seeing it for the tangled web of psychic forces that it truly is. and thus leaving no need nor place for the Spiritual Man.
. the "mind" fighting doggedly.NET
arising. with quiet eyes. one part observing the other.ASTROCCULT. craftily. endlessly.

as it were. viewing another part.
22.
We are considering a stage of spiritual life at which the psychical nature has been cleansed and purified. from one point of view. inextricable confusion. taken palpable shape. with memories of its own. When the psychical nature takes on the form of the spiritual intelligence.ASTROCCULT. and observes it.
. in which its spiritual intelligence has. beholding that visible form. it reflects the image of the heavenly. this is "memory. in the luminous life of the risen Lord. This is. and thus becomes not only conscious." with its memories. self-comprehension. but self-conscious. when he views the psychic pictures gallery. The Self sees itself in this mirror.
The solution of the mystery lies not in the "mind" but beyond it. purified now.NET
The true solution is. giving the spiritual intelligence a visible form. the purpose of the whole evolutionary process. the Spiritual Man. then the Self becomes conscious of its own spiritual intelligence." which would be a hopeless. if we thought of one part of the "mind. Formerly. thereby reaches self-recognition. The Self. that the Spiritual Man looks down upon the psychic nature. it reflected in its plastic substance the images of the earthy. by reflecting it.

but suffused with golden light.
Then comes regeneration. The sensation of sweet things tasted clamours to be renewed. and the man red generate gleams with the radiance of eternity. no longer stained. the psychic nature is saturated with images of material things. for of this cleansing it is said: Though your sins be as scarlet.ASTROCCULT. leads to the perception of all objects. and the washing away of sin.
. purifying it as gold is refined in the furnace.
Then the psychic vesture begins to take on the colour of the Soul. or heard. piling up sin's intolerable burden. or tasted. and drives the man into effort to obtain its renewal.
In the unregenerate man. taking on the colour of the Seer and of things seen.NET
23. The psychic nature. which burns out the stains of the psychic vesture. creative power of the Soul. through the fiery. they shall be white as snow. of things seen. each dynamic and importunate. Thus the Spiritual Man puts on fair raiment. and this web of dynamic images forms the ordinary material and driving power of life. though they be as crimson. so he adds image to image. or felt. The suffering of regeneration springs from this indispensable purifying.

he finds also that the world's sin and shame are his. exists now for the Spiritual Man. he shall enter altogether there.
The "mind. ready to his hand. he. the toil for the redemption of the world. he likewise finds his part in the toil of angels.
For this work.ASTROCCULT. the hosts of the just made perfect. not Self. Finding sinlessness. for his familiar friends. but he has at the same time found a new kinship with the prone children of men. It is true that he dwells in heaven. The psychic nature. and this instrument he finds. recognized as outward. which has been printed with mind-images of innumerable material things. is now the slave.
24. finding his high realm.
For it is not ordained for the Spiritual Man that. but he also dwells on earth. He has angels and archangels. not to share. who stumble and sin in the dark." once the tyrant. who now stands in the heavenly realm. a well-trained instrument of the Spiritual Man. finding kinship with angels. but to atone. and pass out of the vision of mankind.NET
they shall be as wool. separate.
. and fitted and perfected by the very struggles he has waged against it. building for him. needs his instrument on earth.

" and the mind's worldview is won. the "mind. arduous fight against the "mind.
How many times in the long struggle have the Soul's aspirations seemed but a hopeless." to daunt the Soul.
Have you aspired. once the long. Yet every finest. and ten times more than realized. a madman's counsel of perfection. in misery and pain. after consoling. For him who discerns between the Mind and the Spiritual Man. of heavenly things and even in this present world doing the will and working the works of the Father. This once tyrant is now his servant and perfect ambassador. well-nigh hopeless. before men.
25. there comes perfect fruition of the longing after the real being of the Self. healing love?
. most impossible aspiration shall be realized. and put off the day when the neck of the "mind" shall be put under the foot of the Soul. bearing witness. after immortality? You shall be paid by entering the immortality of God.ASTROCCULT." of the personal man. And then it will be seen that unfaith and despair were but weapons of the "mind. impossible dream.
Have you aspired.NET
in the personality.

in your day of feebleness. the kingly figure of the Spiritual Man. with God working the works of God. and all the immortal hosts of the Dawn. toward Eternal Life. These are the prizes of regeneration. that salvation means.NET
You shall be made a dispenser of the divine love of God Himself to weary souls. building up. in lonely darkness.ASTROCCULT. longed for companionship and consolation? You shall have angels and archangels for your friends. even in this present world.
Have you sought ardently.
. infinite.
Have you. Therefore overcome. that you may rise again to God. but that the whole realm of the natural powers shall be redeemed.
26. after power? You shall wield power immortal.
This is part of the secret of the Soul. Thereafter. Therefore die to self. not merely that a soul shall be cleansed and raised to heaven.
These are the fruits of victory. the whole personal being bends toward illumination.

ASTROCCULT. no longer demi-god.
. unreserved surrender of the vanquished. demi-gods.NET
The traditions of the ages are full of his footsteps. will come new foes. majestic. reinforcements coming from forgotten years. But the time cometh. Let there be no mistake as to that. becomes the servant. ere the foe. Go not forth to this battle without counting the cost. For once this conflict is begun. myths. nor shadow. Ages have gone to the strengthening of the foe. other thoughts will arise. when he shall be known. In the internals of the batik. in hours when the contest flags.
And from these long past ages. fill the memories of all the nobler peoples. nor myth. but the ever-present Redeemer. mind-born children springing up to fight for mind. uncomprehended shadows. forgotten lives. Ages of conflict must be spent. it can be ended only by sweeping victory. through the impressions of the dynamic mind-images. wholly conquered. the Soul's minister to mankind.
27. working amid men for the life and cleansing of all souls. and unconditional.
The battle is long and arduous.

it is of the very nature of the Soul to be unconquerable. after he has attained.
29. invincible. for whom you fight. by a steadfast. immeasurable. once awakened. the great curse. and invincible.
These new enemies and fears are to be overcome by ceaselessly renewing the fight. through the effort of the contest. the giant weed which grows as strongly in
. it is yet measurable. He who.
It has been said that.
Therefore fight on. while the Warrior who fights for you. is wholly free from self. whether in victory or defeat. gathered together like a cloud. come to its full strength. undaunted. dogged persistence. shall. These are to be overcome as it was taught that hindrances should be overcome. everlasting. in might. reaches the essence of all that can be known. that great as is the dead-weight of the adversary. This is the true spiritual consciousness.NET
28. which shall put the stubbornness of the rocks to shame. is. For the Soul is older than all things. knowing that the spiritual will. that ground gained can be held permanently.ASTROCCULT. we must kill out ambition. at the beginning of the way.

30. When the conflict with the divine will ceases. for sorrow comes from the fight of self-will against the divine will.
Such a one. and he who has grown into obedience. Through obedience to the will of God. his knowledge becomes infinite.NET
the heart of the devoted disciple as in the man of desire. little remains for him to know. which seeks to counteract the evil wrought by disobedience. thereby enters into joy. he has that perfect illumination which is the true spiritual consciousness. he who has attained is wrapt about with the essence of all that can be known.ASTROCCULT. then sorrow ceases. he is initiated into God's view of the universe. he is free from sorrow. too. seeing all life as God sees it. it is said. he comes into oneness of being with God. from the burden of toil. through the correcting stress of the divine will.
. humility. obedience. is free from the bond of Karma. Thereon comes surcease from sorrow and the burden of toil. all stains washed away. Free from self-will. The remedy is sacrifice of self. from that debt to works which comes from works done in self-love and desire. When all veils are rent. Thereafter.
31. as with a cloud. that purity of heart which gives the vision of God.

These veils rent. When that veil is rent. designed for this end. Little will remain unknown to thee. He is the crown of evolution: at his coming. the goal of all development is attained. The world's sin and shame are thy sin and shame: its joy also.
It is a part of the beauty and wisdom of the great Indian teachings. The second veil is the delusion of enduring separateness from thy other selves. They teach that all nature is an orderly process of evolution. to hold that all life exists for the purposes of Soul.
. leading up to this. thou shalt discern thy oneness with everlasting Life. Thereafter comes the completion of the series of transformations of the three nature potencies. for the making of the spiritual man. the Vedanta and the Yoga alike. existing only for this: to bring forth and perfect the Spiritual Man. the divine Eternal.
32.NET
The first veil is the delusion that thy soul is in some permanent way separate from the great Soul. thou shalt enter into knowledge of divine things and human things. since their purpose is attained. whereas in truth the soul that is in them is one with the soul that is in thee.ASTROCCULT.

there is no longer eternal change. in the Circle of Necessity. the crowning transformation. sets a term to change.
But the Spiritual Man enters a new order. which belongs to the Spirit. we doom ourselves to perpetual change. He has entered into the joy of his Lord. and that which dies must be reborn. which inheres in Nature. time gives place to duration. for him. Sansara. of the whole realm of change. the inverse resolution of the potencies of Nature.
. and the eternity of change. which have emptied themselves of their value for the Spiritual man.
34. therefore. That which is born must die.ASTROCCULT.NET
33. It is change evermore. While we are content to live in and for Nature. The series of transformations is divided into moments.
There are two kinds of eternity. but eternal Being. in all that is not Spirit. it is the culmination. Pure spiritual life is. This spiritual birth. When the series is completed. says the commentary: the eternity of immortal life. or it is the return of the power of pure Consciousness to its essential form. which makes him heir of the Everlasting. a ceaseless series of transformations.

radiant with infinite Light.
. may be regarded. stretching upward and onward from their feet to the everlasting hills.NET
Here we have a splendid generalization. Therefore those who study the wise philosopher. as the Vedantins look at it. where "that which flowed from out the boundless deep. and his entry into his immortal heritage.
The birth and growth of the Spiritual Man. in which our wise philosopher finally reconciles the naturalists and the idealists. as the restoration of pure spiritual Consciousness to its pristine and essential form. be they naturalist or idealist. and they are left facing the path itself. lest they should be tempted to delay over them.ASTROCCULT. turns again home". expressing the crown and end of his teaching. and then in the terms of the idealist. says our philosopher. or it may be looked at. These things are lifted from their path. There is no discrepancy or conflict between these two views. first in the terms of the naturalist. have no excuse to linger over dialectic subtleties or disputes. which are but two accounts of the same thing. either as the culmination of the whole process of natural evolution and involution.

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